Tantanoola Tiger 1896

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“The better the day the better the deed, for on Sunday last, the 12th inst., the Tantanoola Tiger was slain near Benayeo, Aspley. Mr. George Drayton, of that ilk, when taking a walk in one of his paddocks on Sunday morning, was assailed by a large wolf-like animal that went at him open-mouthed and forced him to retreat; but fortunately at that moment Mr. Houghton (who is not short of pluck in the hour of need) came on the scene, and even with two bludgeons they had some difficulty in killing the monster.

“It bears no resemblance to a tiger, and seems to be a kind of nondescript animal between a wolf and a bear, considerably larger and far more muscular than a sheep dog, with long and very powerful forearms like those of a brown bear. Mr. Drayton has had it carefully skinned preparatory to stuffing, and will be happy to exhibit it to any person who may call at his residence at the Benayeo and Aspley roadside, and it is worth seeing, for it seems to be an animal wholly unknown in this part of the country, and Mr. Drayton will exact no fee for the exhibition.”

A correspondent from the Border Watch writes:-

“There was a great fuss made over a wild beast killed on Mr. Drayton’s selection, near Aspley, on Sunday, the 12th inst. Some called it a Swedish wolf, others a crossbred dingo, and a few associated it with the Tantanoola tiger, but in the end it turned out to be only a native bear of unusually large size. It fought and vanquished Mr. Drayton’s two sheep dogs and menaced himself, but was only a big Australian bruin after all. The most singular circumstance associated with it is that it had its habitat in a hollow tree within half a mile of Mr. Drayton’s dwelling, where he has lived for the last 20 years, and, nevertheless, was never seen before; nor has any native bear of its size been seen in that locality for many years back.”

Walhalla, Monday.
The residents of Aberfeldy River, about 12 miles north of Walhalla, received a scare last Saturday by the reappearance of the Tantanoola tiger. The particulars obtainable show that a young man named Beardmore was engaged in the homely occupation of conveying clothes on a mule down to the river, where his sister was washing. Suddenly, a large animal was noticed moving in the bush, and the mule at once pulled up and declined to budge an inch. Beardmore, riding to a sense of his peril, threw a handy weapon at the monster. The supposed tiger growled, and the mule, becoming alarmed at the menacing noise, turned on his heels and went flying back to the house, leaving Beardmore face to face with the stranger – a position which he maintained no longer than was essential for a critical inspection of the new zoological specimen. Shortly afterwards Miss Beardmore came running back to the house considerably perturbed by the animal, which had made its appearance where she was washing. Both witnesses declare that the animal was twice the size of a large dog, and striped in the same manner as a tiger.

RUTHERGLEN, TUESDAY.
A report that has come to hand from a centre a few miles from Rutherglen has led the people of this district to conclude that they have been favoured with a visit from the "Tantanoola Tiger," which has been seen by several people within a few miles of the town. The description which is given of the animal tallies with those which have previously been published, but the animal in question seems to be a very young beast. It was chased for some distance by a horseman the other day, but escaped through a thick hedge into yineyard.

The Tantanoola tiger is still fiercely bounding around Victoria. One week the ubiquitous animal is in Byaduk, the next in Gippsland, and the next in Benalla, in the North-eastern district. No tiger of ordinary speed could get over the country in this fashion, and it is suggested that, being an up-to-date modernised man-eater, the brute has taken to a bicycle.

Lilydale, Tuesday.
Information comes from Launching-place that an animal, supposed to be the “Tantanoola tiger,” has been seen in the vicinity of that place. An old resident named Hutchinson was out shooting rabbits, and was resting himself on a log, his gun lying near at hand, when his attention was drawn to a track close by, and he saw a large animal of a low, long build. The skin of the beast was covered with yellow stripes from the tail to the head, and it had a cat-like head, and the gait peculiar to the tiger tribe. The creature came within 30 yards of where Mr. Hutchinson was sitting, and then quickly disappeared in the undergrowth. He waited for the animals reappearance, with the idea of shooting it, but it only appeared on a rise which was out of range. Mr. Hutchinson is a highly-respected resident.

This is what the Tantanoola tiger also appears to have done since he was seen a week ago at Launching Place, on the Yarra, a few miles from Lilydale, which is 23 miles from Melbourne. There is something strange about this animal, and it is certainly not to be said of him, as of the leopard, that he cannot change his spots. He has changed them so often that before long there will be a few spots in this colony in which he has not appeared, and they are so wide apart that the question is suggested if there is not more than one of him. He has been shot dead and has proven to be a wolf. He has resurrected and reincarnated in tiger form, and has been seen by so many it is impossible to suppose they are all mistaken, and the conclusion seems unavoidable that some member of the big felidae is really stalking about in this part of the continent. How did it get here? Well for the matter of that how did the true wolf that was shot get here, and the presence of the one is not mere inexplicable than the presence of the other. Can it be that someone has been trying his hand at acclimatising for our benefit a healthy specimen of your Tasmanian Tiger?

http://www.thekoala.com/koala/

The Koala - also known as Australian bear, native bear, and native sloth.

An adult male koala can weigh between 8 and 14 kilograms and a female between 6 and 11 kilograms, with the heavier animals coming from the southern areas where they have adapted to the colder climate by an increase in body weight and thicker fur. If you see Koalas in Queensland, they look noticably smaller than Koalas from Victoria.

This article represents a darker side to Australian humour although the times and the attitudes towards the native fauna were dramatically different over 100 years ago. Koalas, though reasonably able to defend themselves with their sharp claws, are not known to attack people or their dogs.

Lord Lamington, the British Governor of Queensland after whom Lamington Plateau was named, distinguished himself when he visited this great conservation area at the turn of the last century by shooting a koala. It is said he was haunted for years later by the sound its dying cries.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2007/07/04/189_hinterland-rainforest.html

… The drought in the northern parts of South Australia is reported to have changed the sheep into a carnivorous animal which has begun to feed on dead rabbits. If the sheep, hitherto the type of mildness and meekness, keep on developing in this way under the influence of drought he may eventually become a bloodthirsty carnivora and exterminate the rabbits. Perhaps the famous Tantanoola tiger was merely a sheep which had developed carnivorous habits!