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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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NARRATOR: On the prowl on
England's wildest moors,

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is this the beast of
Bodmin, the mystery

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cat whose sheep and cattle kills
have left a trail of carnage?

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Was this bushman savaged
by a Tasmanian tiger,

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a creature experts say
died out 60 years ago?

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In the Australian Outback, they
search by night for a big cat

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that science says doesn't exist.

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Will they prove the
scientists wrong?

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Mysteries from the files
of Arthur C. Clarke,

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author of "2001," and
inventor of the communications

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satellite.

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Now in retreat in Sri Lanka,
he ponders the riddles

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of this and other worlds.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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ARTHUR C. CLARKE: One of the
most popular exhibits here

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in the Colombo National
Museum is the infamous Man

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Eating Leopard of Punanai.

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A fearsome beast in its day,
it devoured at least 11 people

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before being shot in 1923.

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Fortunately, attacks
by the leopards

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that still remain in
the jungles of Sri Lanka

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are now few and far between.

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But of course, there
are many countries

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in the world where
leopards and pumas

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are not supposed to exist.

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Yet it's hard to
discount reports

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from some of these places that
big cats are on the prowl where

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they shouldn't be.

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NARRATOR: England's
West Country.

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On these bleak
moors, it's feared

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mysterious and dangerous
cats are on the loose.

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All too often, the mist
clears to reveal true horror.

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Hundreds of lambs, calves,
and even fully grown sheep

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have fallen prey to
the moorland killer.

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Eyewitnesses talk of a huge dark
creature, a leopard or puma.

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Even as we filmed one frightened
farmer on Bodmin Moor,

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one of the beasts appeared.

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ROSEMARY RHODES: I'm seeing
a very, very large black cat!

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Is that the cat that's
been killing your--

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your sheep, do you think?

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ROSEMARY RHODES:
It's big enough to.

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It's big enough to be the one.

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My goodness, it is.

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Well, I reckon that's
the one that's about

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six foot from stem to stern.

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I've had to sell my sheep.

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I was losing so many.

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And it wasn't just the,
the kills that upset us.

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It was the numbers
that were left

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alive, disemboweled and living.

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NARRATOR: She called in the vet.

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DIANA SUTHERLAND: Well, Rosemary
brought in a sheep to us

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in, in January that had
been killed in a way

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that I've never ever
seen a sheep killed.

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And it was just opened, as if
you'd opened it with a knife.

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There were also signs on the
udder of actual claw marks.

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There were four claw
marks, one of which

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had penetrated exactly
like a cat claw mark.

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I can't think what else
it would have been.

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Whatever actually
killed this animal

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must have taken hold of
the area under the jaw

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and just held there.

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And certainly the big cats
always go for underneath,

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and suffocate.

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So on, on view of that, I
really think that probably

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it was a big cat of some sort.

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NARRATOR: This film
convinced a big cat expert.

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He says the beast is at
least five feet long.

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It's probably a leopard,
and best left alone.

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When Rosemary Rhodes
goes at night,

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she always takes her
shotgun with her.

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In these parts,
children aren't left

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alone to play in the garden.

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Parents fear the cat may strike.

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Farmer John Goodenough fears his
land may become killing fields.

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Not just for sheep,
but for people.

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JOHN GOODENOUGH: Well,
we put this notice up

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because they bring
these children out for,

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for walks on the
moors for a little bit

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of orientating--
you know, to read

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maps and one thing and another.

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And, and they wander everywhere.

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Well, if one got stray
and should walk in

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on one of these things
that were sleeping,

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or if, if it had
youngsters, cubs,

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could be extremely dangerous.

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It ought, it ought to be caught
and disposed of in some manner.

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Whether to the zoo, or, or send
them over to America where,

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where they want them in the
wild, the wild lands [LAUGHS]

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over there.

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'Cause we don't want them.

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NARRATOR: Sightings
of mysterious big cats

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are reported across Britain.

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From Bodmin in the
southwest to Barnard

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Castle in the far northeast.

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Unidentified big cats
have been spotted

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from Kidlington in
Oxfordshire to Kidderminster

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in the Midlands.

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In Wales, a big cat has been
reported savaging livestock.

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And in Worcestershire,
Sally Dyke

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will always bear the scars
of her close encounter

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of the third kind.

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In Eastbourne, news
photographer Terry Connolly

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had this menacing meeting.

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And in Evesham, Adrian
Hodges barely had

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time to focus his camcorder.

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Since the 1960s, the
Surrey Puma has struck

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fear in the suburbs of London.

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Pop star Maurice Gibb of the
Bee Gees claims to have seen it.

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In the Isle of Wight, trackers
spotted these huge paw prints.

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But still elusive and still
on its murderous rampage,

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the Exmoor Beast
has evaded capture.

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Near his cottage in deep
forest on the edge of Exmoor,

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Major Paget
King-Fretts came face

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to face with one of the beasts.

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MAJOR PAGET KING-FRETTS: I
came out to shut this gate

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one evening.

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And as you'll see,
there's a path

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that I keep cut in the woods.

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To my utter astonishment, I saw
a large black cat-like animal

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squatting in the
middle of the path.

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It was squatting like a cat
will squat in front of a fire,

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and it had a cat-like
face, a round,

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flat face with pointed ears.

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And I realized at
once that I'd seen

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something strange that I'd never
seen before in this country.

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And my immediate
reaction, of course,

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was this must be the famous
Beast of Exmoor that had killed

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so many of my neighbors lambs.

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NARRATOR: That
farmer lost 50 lambs.

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Soon other farmers found their
flocks were being massacred.

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They banded together
to hunt the cat,

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but the beast continued
its killing spree.

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As losses mounted, a squad
of crack commando snipers

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from the Royal Marines
moved onto the moors

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under Andy Buchanan.

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ANDY BUCHANAN: Got a
team of guys together.

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Zeroed the weapons in, and the
night sights because we decided

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we would operate at night.

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Because the beast-- I'll
refer to it as the beast--

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operated purely at night.

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One of the guys saw it.

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And he couldn't fire at
it, because there was

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a farmhouse right behind it.

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From what I've seen and heard,
I think it's a large cat

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of the puma variety.

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But that's not 100% until
it's hanging by its heels,

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which I don't think it will be.

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NARRATOR: While Britain's big
cats prowl on, across the world

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the Australian Rare
Fauna Association

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stalks its own prey.

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PETER CHAPPLE: OK, everyone.

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I think we're pretty
well organized.

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Can you come in please,
and we'll just have a--

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NARRATOR: Arthur's
mission, to hunt down

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an animal whose very
existence remains a mystery--

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the Queensland tiger.

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PETER CHAPPLE: You're going to
be taking the western route,

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remember.

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Cars two, three, and six
over on the eastern route.

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Don't leave your
circuit at all, right?

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Keep recording
everything you see.

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You know, the usual procedures.

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And we'll rendezvous
back at 20:30.

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NARRATOR: Scientists
refuse to believe

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there are big cats at large
on the Australian mainland.

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Eyewitnesses disagree.

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The searchers hope the textbooks
will have to be rewritten.

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PETER CHAPPLE: Well, we
try to go to areas where

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reported sightings
of, of the animals

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that we study at this time
of year are most frequent.

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But every now and again we get
a tantalizing sighting or two,

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which makes us
say well, let's go

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out and do some more research.

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This particular animal
we're talking about

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is, is something that's often
referred to as the Queensland

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marsupial tiger.

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NARRATOR: From the rain
forests of far North Queensland

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all down the eastern
coast have come

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reports of Australia's big cat.

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In 1910, a hunter
in Kuranda boasted,

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"Most of the tiger
cats I've killed

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were about four feet
long with black stripes."

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From the Ballandean
Mountains in 1925

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came reports of an animal
that was, "Very savage.

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Its coat was beautiful
and striped like a tiger."

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In 1923, frightened locals told
the director of Melbourne's zoo

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about a large tiger cat as big
as a bulldog with brindled fur

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and very large eyes.

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They said it doesn't
hesitate to attack a man,

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and often killed their dogs.

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This unique picture
from Ozenkadnook

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is the only known photograph
of the Queensland tiger.

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PETER CHAPPLE: Last, last time--
-What about Dad?

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PETER CHAPPLE: Last time she
saw a wombat, she ran over it.

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[LAUGHS]

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NARRATOR: Tonight Arthur's
search has drawn a blank.

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Well, it was very
good if we were looking

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for ring-tailed possums.

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We saw plenty of those.

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But I can't say we've had
too much success tonight.

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So I guess there's
always another day

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and we'll just keep
on plugging away

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and see how lucky we can be.

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REPORTER (ON
RADIO): Cairns city,

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fine and moderate
with fresh southeast

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winds with a top of 30 degrees.

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NARRATOR: At Radio
4CA in Cairns,

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the Queensland tiger is the
topic of today's phone-in.

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REPORTER (ON RADIO): At five
past nine, it's 26 degrees.

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DJ: I thought it was a myth.

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I don't think it's
a myth anymore.

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Because last time
I mentioned it,

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we had about half a
dozen calls from people

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who swear they have
seen this creature

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in a limited area,
fairly small area

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here in far north Queensland.

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If you're one of those people,
can you give us a call now

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and give us a bit of a
description of that that beast,

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the Queensland tiger?

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Hello?

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Who's that?

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FRED MARTIN (ON
RADIO): Fred Martin.

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I'd like to have a
talk about that tiger.

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DJ: Have you actually
ever seen one?

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FRED MARTIN (ON RADIO): Yeah.

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We was going on the
bush track in a vehicle.

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And it had been hit early
hours of the morning

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lying dead beside the road.

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It was liked an average size
cattle dog, a gingery color.

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A face more like
a, a bull terrier.

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Quite solid, big teeth.
DJ: Yeah.

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Gee, I wish you'd picked it up
and--and taken it somewhere,

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Fred.

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FRED MARTIN (ON RADIO): Yeah.

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We never even thought about it.

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DJ: Yeah.

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Who's that?

249
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:54,626
TED FRANCIS (ON RADIO):
This is Ted Francis.

250
00:10:54,626 --> 00:10:55,340
DJ: Hello, Ted.

251
00:10:55,340 --> 00:10:58,840
Are you talking about the
Queensland tiger, Ted?

252
00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:00,330
TED FRANCIS (ON RADIO): Yes.

253
00:11:00,330 --> 00:11:04,660
Oh, one Sunday, I decided
I'd go over to the river

254
00:11:04,660 --> 00:11:08,085
and do a bit of
panning for gold.

255
00:11:08,085 --> 00:11:09,715
TED FRANCIS: I looked
into the [INAUDIBLE]

256
00:11:09,715 --> 00:11:14,320
and saw this cat, which
looked back at me.

257
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:19,620
And it had white stripes
on it, and the hair

258
00:11:19,620 --> 00:11:23,760
would have been a dark color
with the white stripes.

259
00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:24,984
DJ: The stripes were white?

260
00:11:24,984 --> 00:11:26,450
TED FRANCIS (ON RADIO):
White stripes, yeah.

261
00:11:26,450 --> 00:11:27,740
DJ: Against a darker background.

262
00:11:27,740 --> 00:11:30,500
TED FRANCIS (ON RADIO):
Darker background, yeah.

263
00:11:30,500 --> 00:11:33,250
TED FRANCIS: Going
on the, the markings,

264
00:11:33,250 --> 00:11:36,540
and the size of the
cat, I would say it must

265
00:11:36,540 --> 00:11:40,325
have been a Queensland tiger.

266
00:11:40,325 --> 00:11:41,697
DJ: Hello, Charlie.

267
00:11:41,697 --> 00:11:43,630
CHARLIE TUTT (ON RADIO): Well,
I've listened with interest

268
00:11:43,630 --> 00:11:48,290
to Fred, Ted, Stan, and Dan.

269
00:11:48,290 --> 00:11:52,150
I think there's a Queensland
tiger, and I've seen it.

270
00:11:52,150 --> 00:11:54,980
CHARLIE TUTT: Well actually,
Nigel and I were both cutting

271
00:11:54,980 --> 00:11:57,990
pine-- hoop pine-- up on Mt.

272
00:11:57,990 --> 00:12:00,010
Stanley, which is
at the headwaters

273
00:12:00,010 --> 00:12:02,010
of the Brisbane River.

274
00:12:02,010 --> 00:12:05,110
And we were walking
along a snigging track,

275
00:12:05,110 --> 00:12:10,685
and suddenly I saW00 it
looked very much like a tiger.

276
00:12:10,685 --> 00:12:15,550
And it did two half rolls on a
big old pine stump that must've

277
00:12:15,550 --> 00:12:17,215
been about that wide across.

278
00:12:17,215 --> 00:12:20,590
And the tiger took up the full
distance across like this.

279
00:12:20,590 --> 00:12:22,360
And as it was doing
the couple of rolls,

280
00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:24,800
I said to Nigel, "Hey Nigel!

281
00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,090
Can you see that-- what
looks like a tiger--"

282
00:12:27,090 --> 00:12:29,600
NIGEL TUTT: "Do you see
what I see?" you said.

283
00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,105
CHARLIE TUTT: Oh, "Can
you see what I see?"

284
00:12:31,105 --> 00:12:33,298
DJ: Charlie, this was the
Queensland tiger, wasn't it?

285
00:12:33,298 --> 00:12:34,697
CHARLIE TUTT (ON RADIO):
Of course it was.

286
00:12:34,697 --> 00:12:35,774
And--

287
00:12:35,774 --> 00:12:37,040
CHARLIE TUTT: And
the most distinctive

288
00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:42,590
feature there was two curved,
horizontal white stripes.

289
00:12:42,590 --> 00:12:50,005
And surrounding that were these
typical tabby cat-- dark gray

290
00:12:50,005 --> 00:12:53,690
and merging into ginger.

291
00:12:53,690 --> 00:12:57,320
It reminded me very
much of a, a cat that

292
00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,120
is going to spring on prey.

293
00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,170
And I think Nigel said, "Well,
we'll keep our axes handy."

294
00:13:02,170 --> 00:13:03,070
NIGEL TUTT: [LAUGHS] Right.

295
00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:04,480
We'll keep our axes handy.

296
00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:05,790
CHARLIE TUTT: And we walked--

297
00:13:05,790 --> 00:13:06,930
NIGEL TUTT: Oh!

298
00:13:06,930 --> 00:13:08,440
CHARLIE TUTT: And we walked by.

299
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,490
And when we walked by--
NIGEL TUTT: Boy!

300
00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:12,210
CHARLIE TUTT: I don't
think Nigel actually

301
00:13:12,210 --> 00:13:13,165
saw it leave the stump.

302
00:13:13,165 --> 00:13:15,840
But he saw it after
it left the stump.

303
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:17,720
It was a tiger of some sort.

304
00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,660
And that's why one didn't
talk about it very much.

305
00:13:20,660 --> 00:13:24,580
Because bush people were
mostly pretty skeptical.

306
00:13:24,580 --> 00:13:26,340
But I've reached
the stage in life

307
00:13:26,340 --> 00:13:30,857
now if I tell it as it was,
then that's how it was.

308
00:13:30,857 --> 00:13:31,690
DJ: Good on you, Charlie.

309
00:13:31,690 --> 00:13:33,050
We'll talk to you again one day.

310
00:13:33,050 --> 00:13:33,540
CHARLIE TUTT (ON
RADIO): Thank you.

311
00:13:33,540 --> 00:13:34,270
Cheerio for now.

312
00:13:34,270 --> 00:13:35,120
DJ: That's Charlie.

313
00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:36,030
What an amazing story.

314
00:13:36,030 --> 00:13:40,750


315
00:13:40,750 --> 00:13:42,680
NARRATOR: More and
more Australians

316
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:46,070
believe the Queensland tiger
will emerge from the Outback

317
00:13:46,070 --> 00:13:47,220
to confound the experts.

318
00:13:47,220 --> 00:13:51,314


319
00:13:51,314 --> 00:13:53,760
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: As for the
possibility that some countries

320
00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,090
may be harboring cats
unknown to science,

321
00:13:57,090 --> 00:13:59,410
that could well be the case.

322
00:13:59,410 --> 00:14:03,080
Every few years, zoologists
are surprised to discover

323
00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,390
quite large animals
previously unknown to them.

324
00:14:06,390 --> 00:14:08,900
They're usually quite
well known to the locals,

325
00:14:08,900 --> 00:14:11,020
and indeed are
often eaten by them.

326
00:14:11,020 --> 00:14:14,620


327
00:14:14,620 --> 00:14:17,720
NARRATOR: In Tasmania,
reminders of the thylacine,

328
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,540
or Tasmanian tiger,
are everywhere.

329
00:14:20,540 --> 00:14:22,003
But not the beast itself.

330
00:14:22,003 --> 00:14:24,980


331
00:14:24,980 --> 00:14:29,690
The last pathetic survivor died
in Hobart Zoo in the 1930s.

332
00:14:29,690 --> 00:14:32,890
Since then, it became
officially extinct.

333
00:14:32,890 --> 00:14:35,040
From the end of
the 19th century,

334
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,080
thousands were flushed
from their lairs in jungle

335
00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,740
and scrubland, sentenced
to death by the bounty put

336
00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:43,212
on their head.

337
00:14:43,212 --> 00:14:46,010
For each dead Tasmanian
tiger, the hunter

338
00:14:46,010 --> 00:14:49,645
earned five pounds, equal
almost to a month's wages.

339
00:14:49,645 --> 00:14:53,650


340
00:14:53,650 --> 00:14:56,590
Today, far from the
city, deep in the bush,

341
00:14:56,590 --> 00:14:59,470
Rusty Richards plies
his trade as a forester

342
00:14:59,470 --> 00:15:03,050
with only his bullock team
and his dog for company.

343
00:15:03,050 --> 00:15:04,065
Usually.

344
00:15:04,065 --> 00:15:07,860
RUSTY RICHARDS: Normally it
was, it was funny feeling.

345
00:15:07,860 --> 00:15:09,860
Seems like if all the hair stood
up on the back of your neck

346
00:15:09,860 --> 00:15:12,395
when you see something
you've never seen before.

347
00:15:12,395 --> 00:15:15,000
I've seen every other
animal in the bush.

348
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,530
You know, he was
standing on the track.

349
00:15:16,530 --> 00:15:18,640
He's about as [INAUDIBLE]
to that tree away.

350
00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:19,910
And he's had his
head turned back

351
00:15:19,910 --> 00:15:22,180
and his little prick
ears stuck up like that.

352
00:15:22,180 --> 00:15:24,130
I couldn't tell what he
was til he turned round.

353
00:15:24,130 --> 00:15:26,495
And when he turned round,
he had the thick tail

354
00:15:26,495 --> 00:15:28,840
and the long brindle
stripes going down him.

355
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,650
I knew no one would believe
me when I told them,

356
00:15:30,650 --> 00:15:32,015
but I didn't worry about it.

357
00:15:32,015 --> 00:15:35,180
That's all there was about it.

358
00:15:35,180 --> 00:15:37,660
NARRATOR: In a lifetime
spent traveling the world,

359
00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:40,530
Hans Naarding has seen
many strange sights.

360
00:15:40,530 --> 00:15:43,780
One night in the Tasmanian bush,
he woke at 2:00 in the morning

361
00:15:43,780 --> 00:15:45,360
and switched on his spotlight.

362
00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:50,190
HANS NAARDING: I saw an animal
about the size of a Labrador.

363
00:15:50,190 --> 00:15:54,550
Grayish coat, which was
of course, sopping wet.

364
00:15:54,550 --> 00:15:57,190
You could very clearly see
the stripes on his shoulders,

365
00:15:57,190 --> 00:15:58,235
which I counted.

366
00:15:58,235 --> 00:16:02,320
There were about 12, but they
faded out towards the back.

367
00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,580
And he had that characteristic
big diamond shaped head

368
00:16:06,580 --> 00:16:09,290
of a, of a Tasmanian tiger.

369
00:16:09,290 --> 00:16:12,390
And at one moment, he
actually dropped his lower

370
00:16:12,390 --> 00:16:14,410
jaw and his tongue fell out.

371
00:16:14,410 --> 00:16:16,155
And he slightly turned his head.

372
00:16:16,155 --> 00:16:18,310
I could see his teeth.

373
00:16:18,310 --> 00:16:20,881
And he just stood there.

374
00:16:20,881 --> 00:16:23,980
Well, it was one of the
highlights of my life.

375
00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:27,800
It was just-- blew my mind.

376
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,160
NARRATOR: Bob Green, once
curator of the Launceston

377
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:31,920
Museum in Tasmania.

378
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:33,660
Of all the evidence
brought to him,

379
00:16:33,660 --> 00:16:35,390
the most graphic
comes from bushman

380
00:16:35,390 --> 00:16:39,044
Lloyd Poke and his photo album.

381
00:16:39,044 --> 00:16:42,480
BOB GREEN: In all this
prowling that you've

382
00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:44,830
done over the years, Lloyd,
how close have you got to him?

383
00:16:44,830 --> 00:16:46,515
What's the closest
you've ever been.

384
00:16:46,515 --> 00:16:49,100
LLOYD POKE: Well, I've actually
had one in my hand, Bob.

385
00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:51,055
I've got photos here somewhere.

386
00:16:51,055 --> 00:16:55,110
I jumped on him, over top, and
I scruffed him like a-- round

387
00:16:55,110 --> 00:16:56,520
the neck like a, a dog.

388
00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,360
But I found out he had
no loose skin there.

389
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,480
And I had to really dive the
fingers in and crash down

390
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,630
on top of him to hold him down.

391
00:17:04,630 --> 00:17:06,329
Had my legs and knees
a little bit far apart,

392
00:17:06,329 --> 00:17:07,329
and he kicked up his hind leg.

393
00:17:07,329 --> 00:17:10,540
And that's where he caught my
arm, sort of ripped my jumper.

394
00:17:10,540 --> 00:17:12,210
BOB GREEN: See what
you think of this.

395
00:17:12,210 --> 00:17:15,160
Fellow brought me
this a while ago.

396
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:19,160


397
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,170
And he said, "What do
you think of that?"

398
00:17:21,170 --> 00:17:22,190
And--

399
00:17:22,190 --> 00:17:23,410
LLOYD POKE: That's a ripper.

400
00:17:23,410 --> 00:17:25,055
BOB GREEN: That's--

401
00:17:25,055 --> 00:17:27,571
LLOYD POKE: Oh god, it's
really conclusive, actually.

402
00:17:27,571 --> 00:17:28,270
Evidence.

403
00:17:28,270 --> 00:17:29,400
BOB GREEN: Well,
you can't imagine--

404
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:30,866
LLOYD POKE: You can't
imagine anything else.

405
00:17:30,866 --> 00:17:32,285
BOB GREEN: From
anything else, can you?

406
00:17:32,285 --> 00:17:33,900
LLOYD POKE: You don't see
them every day though.

407
00:17:33,900 --> 00:17:35,340
It's not an every
day thing you see.

408
00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:36,200
BOB GREEN: No, my word.

409
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,890
No, well that came from out
the other end of Tasmania.

410
00:17:40,890 --> 00:17:43,690
NARRATOR: Maria Island lies
off the coast of Tasmania.

411
00:17:43,690 --> 00:17:46,260
Here, the world's expert
on the Tasmanian tiger

412
00:17:46,260 --> 00:17:47,980
has set up a reserve for it.

413
00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:50,380
For Eric Guiler,
it's an act of faith.

414
00:17:50,380 --> 00:17:52,690
In a lifetime of searching,
he's never seen one.

415
00:17:52,690 --> 00:17:53,790
DR. ERIC GUILER:
Well, the notion

416
00:17:53,790 --> 00:17:56,520
was that we would
have somewhere to put

417
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:58,470
a pair of Tasmanian
tigers, if we were

418
00:17:58,470 --> 00:17:59,460
lucky enough to catch them.

419
00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:01,230
Or if somebody
produced a pair, we'd

420
00:18:01,230 --> 00:18:03,060
have somewhere to put them.

421
00:18:03,060 --> 00:18:05,420
And we looked at this
island, which presents,

422
00:18:05,420 --> 00:18:06,830
presented everything we wanted.

423
00:18:06,830 --> 00:18:09,450
It, there's an open,
open grasslands like we,

424
00:18:09,450 --> 00:18:10,690
we have here.

425
00:18:10,690 --> 00:18:12,060
I was at long
point further down.

426
00:18:12,060 --> 00:18:14,080
It has savanna woodlands.

427
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,130
It has mountaintops.

428
00:18:15,130 --> 00:18:18,700
It's got a range of the habitats
that you get in Tasmania.

429
00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:22,190
And, and it had enough food
in the form of wallabies

430
00:18:22,190 --> 00:18:24,930
for the thylacine to feed on.

431
00:18:24,930 --> 00:18:28,210
We're getting fewer and
fewer reports of the animal.

432
00:18:28,210 --> 00:18:31,810
And I think it's
very, very, very

433
00:18:31,810 --> 00:18:33,330
much teetering on the edge.

434
00:18:33,330 --> 00:18:37,140
It's, it's very, very dodgy.

435
00:18:37,140 --> 00:18:38,745
There's no point
driving in a vehicle,

436
00:18:38,745 --> 00:18:41,395
'cause you don't see footprints,
you don't see signs, you,

437
00:18:41,395 --> 00:18:43,050
you don't hear anything.

438
00:18:43,050 --> 00:18:45,190
So you're, you're just
walking, walking, walking.

439
00:18:45,190 --> 00:18:46,660
I've walked over
most of Tasmania

440
00:18:46,660 --> 00:18:50,030
looking for the darn
thing without any success.

441
00:18:50,030 --> 00:18:53,770
Get a bit depressed at times.

442
00:18:53,770 --> 00:18:56,240
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: I'm
sure that in some cases,

443
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,300
people really are
seeing big cats.

444
00:18:59,300 --> 00:19:03,840
In Britain in the 1970s, a
law was introduced to regulate

445
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,290
the keeping of dangerous pets.

446
00:19:06,290 --> 00:19:10,720
Sadly as a result, some big
cats were released into the wild

447
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:15,462
by owners who were unwilling
or unable to obey the law.

448
00:19:15,462 --> 00:19:16,990
NARRATOR: In the
north of Scotland,

449
00:19:16,990 --> 00:19:19,490
a female puma
walked into a trap.

450
00:19:19,490 --> 00:19:21,945
Her captors called her
Felicity and found a home

451
00:19:21,945 --> 00:19:23,660
for her in a wildlife park.

452
00:19:23,660 --> 00:19:27,020


453
00:19:27,020 --> 00:19:29,455
And in the Isle of
Wight, Stewart Skinner

454
00:19:29,455 --> 00:19:33,210
laid a mystery to rest when
he shot an Asian leopard cat

455
00:19:33,210 --> 00:19:34,360
which had once been a pet.

456
00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:36,970


457
00:19:36,970 --> 00:19:39,510
In Shropshire, this
Asian jungle cat

458
00:19:39,510 --> 00:19:42,640
was found dead by the
roadside, 3,000 miles

459
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,090
from Egypt, its native habitat.

460
00:19:45,090 --> 00:19:48,150
Cryptozoologist Karl Shuker
believes it may even have

461
00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:49,995
interbred with local pet cats.

462
00:19:49,995 --> 00:19:57,620


463
00:19:57,620 --> 00:19:59,320
KARL SHUKER: As far as big
cats living in Britain,

464
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:00,760
I don't think there's
any doubt anymore.

465
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,160
There's certainly pumas.

466
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,020
There is a large type
of black cat, which

467
00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:07,220
the black panther-- the all
black version of the leopard--

468
00:20:07,220 --> 00:20:08,580
is the closest fit.

469
00:20:08,580 --> 00:20:10,770
There are other jungle
cats, certainly.

470
00:20:10,770 --> 00:20:13,640
There are a smaller
type of spotted cat

471
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,990
called a leopard cat, and quite
possibly the lynx as well.

472
00:20:15,990 --> 00:20:18,590
So you have quite a range
of different cats living

473
00:20:18,590 --> 00:20:20,162
in Great Britain at
the time, all of which

474
00:20:20,162 --> 00:20:21,095
have escaped from captivity.

475
00:20:21,095 --> 00:20:24,810


476
00:20:24,810 --> 00:20:27,000
NARRATOR: Local vet
Gareth Thomas believes

477
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,660
Jasper is part jungle cat.

478
00:20:29,660 --> 00:20:32,780
GARETH THOMAS: I was
impressed by this little cat

479
00:20:32,780 --> 00:20:35,680
when he came into me
for neutering, very soon

480
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,170
after I was presented
with a jungle cat.

481
00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:41,920
And he's had such striking
resemblance in many respects

482
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,900
that I, I immediately
sort of put

483
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:46,861
two and two together
and possibly made five,

484
00:20:46,861 --> 00:20:48,270
I don't know.
But--

485
00:20:48,270 --> 00:20:49,220
Well, then, I'd only--

486
00:20:49,220 --> 00:20:50,580
GARETH THOMAS: So
the, the, the markings

487
00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:53,710
and so forth, the actual
shape and facial markings

488
00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:54,950
are very, very similar.

489
00:20:54,950 --> 00:20:57,120
I think it's a bit too much
of a coincidence for the two

490
00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:03,150
to be in the same region
at much the same time.

491
00:21:03,150 --> 00:21:05,080
NARRATOR: Banchory, Scotland.

492
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,785
Police Sergeant Eddie Bell
is closing in on a killer

493
00:21:08,785 --> 00:21:11,864
And why are you heading
for the institute?

494
00:21:11,864 --> 00:21:13,230
SGT. EDDIE BELL: Well,
believe it or not,

495
00:21:13,230 --> 00:21:17,120
I've got a sample of
dung in this tub, which

496
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:19,352
we hope has come from a cat.

497
00:21:19,352 --> 00:21:21,440
It was found next
to a dead sheep

498
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,645
last October at Barnard
Castle in County Durham.

499
00:21:24,645 --> 00:21:27,930
The sheep had been killed, we
think, by a large predatory

500
00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:30,100
animal, probably a cat.

501
00:21:30,100 --> 00:21:33,580
So we're hoping that this
dung's also come from the animal

502
00:21:33,580 --> 00:21:35,740
and it'll prove beyond
doubt that whatever killed

503
00:21:35,740 --> 00:21:37,878
the sheep was in fact, a cat.

504
00:21:37,878 --> 00:21:46,290


505
00:21:46,290 --> 00:21:50,830
So, does it actually look
like it's come from a cat?

506
00:21:50,830 --> 00:21:52,540
DR. HANS KRUUK: Not just look.

507
00:21:52,540 --> 00:21:53,877
Smell it.

508
00:21:53,877 --> 00:21:55,309
SGT. EDDIE BELL: Yeah.
Yeah.

509
00:21:55,309 --> 00:21:57,850
DR. HANS KRUUK: It
smells like a cat.

510
00:21:57,850 --> 00:22:02,250
Completely different from
a badger or from a wild cat

511
00:22:02,250 --> 00:22:05,250
or from a fox or a dog.

512
00:22:05,250 --> 00:22:08,350
It's, this is typical
of a rather acid,

513
00:22:08,350 --> 00:22:12,250
and I think a very
unpleasant smell.

514
00:22:12,250 --> 00:22:14,970
The size is another thing.

515
00:22:14,970 --> 00:22:18,500
It's, it's much larger than
anything that a fox or a dog

516
00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:19,843
would produce.

517
00:22:19,843 --> 00:22:22,830
You know, it looks exactly
like the scats that I've

518
00:22:22,830 --> 00:22:24,970
seen in the Serengeti,
made by cheetahs,

519
00:22:24,970 --> 00:22:26,474
by lions, and by leopards.

520
00:22:26,474 --> 00:22:27,240
SGT. EDDIE BELL: Right.

521
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:28,940
Yes.

522
00:22:28,940 --> 00:22:30,940
So are you surprised
to find something

523
00:22:30,940 --> 00:22:32,274
like this coming from England?

524
00:22:32,274 --> 00:22:33,340
DR. HANS KRUUK: In England, yes.

525
00:22:33,340 --> 00:22:34,785
Absolutely.

526
00:22:34,785 --> 00:22:38,780
I mean, this is totally
out of context basically.

527
00:22:38,780 --> 00:22:41,780
If I found it in
East Africa, there'd

528
00:22:41,780 --> 00:22:46,220
be no doubt that this is leopard
or lion or cheetah, whatever.

529
00:22:46,220 --> 00:22:47,350
But in England, no.

530
00:22:47,350 --> 00:22:48,765
This shouldn't happen.

531
00:22:48,765 --> 00:22:51,640
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: So many
of us now live in cities

532
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,540
that we're shamefully ignorant
of the multitudinous creatures

533
00:22:55,540 --> 00:22:57,320
that share our planet.

534
00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,270
So it's not surprising
that some big cat

535
00:23:00,270 --> 00:23:04,595
reports turn out to be hilarious
cases of mistaken identity.

536
00:23:04,595 --> 00:23:09,941


537
00:23:09,941 --> 00:23:11,340
CLAIRE CARSON (ON
RADIO): Classic FM News.

538
00:23:11,340 --> 00:23:12,250
It's four o'clock.

539
00:23:12,250 --> 00:23:13,670
I'm Claire Carson.

540
00:23:13,670 --> 00:23:17,220
Reports are coming of a lioness
on the loose in North London.

541
00:23:17,220 --> 00:23:19,850
Police say there have been
two positive sightings

542
00:23:19,850 --> 00:23:21,620
and another eight
possible sightings

543
00:23:21,620 --> 00:23:23,650
of the beast in Winchmore Hill.

544
00:23:23,650 --> 00:23:25,780
People are being
warned to stay indoors,

545
00:23:25,780 --> 00:23:27,540
and a police helicopter
has been brought in

546
00:23:27,540 --> 00:23:29,500
to help the search,
along with zoo experts

547
00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:31,350
with tranquilizer darts.

548
00:23:31,350 --> 00:23:35,580
Police say no zoo or circus
has reported an escaped lion.

549
00:23:35,580 --> 00:23:37,760
DAVID BOOTH: And Lia
spotted like, a creature

550
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,990
walking along the bank.

551
00:23:39,990 --> 00:23:42,702
So [INAUDIBLE] what
do you make of that?

552
00:23:42,702 --> 00:23:44,537
I said, "A bit big, isn't it?"

553
00:23:44,537 --> 00:23:46,270
LIA BASTOCK: And I said,
"I don't know what that is.

554
00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:48,166
But I think I'm going to go
and get a camera if I can."

555
00:23:48,166 --> 00:23:48,865
SUPT.

556
00:23:48,865 --> 00:23:50,764
BOB WAREING: Well, the witnesses
were convinced that they

557
00:23:50,764 --> 00:23:52,760
had seen a young lioness.

558
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,250
And they actually
described it as being

559
00:23:55,250 --> 00:23:58,270
about two and a half
feet tall to the shoulder

560
00:23:58,270 --> 00:24:02,860
and having a short,
light-colored coat

561
00:24:02,860 --> 00:24:06,610
with very big padded paws, and
walking very distinctively.

562
00:24:06,610 --> 00:24:09,580
LIA BASTOCK: They brought
other men with nets, big nets.

563
00:24:09,580 --> 00:24:11,460
And all of a sudden,
there were helicop--

564
00:24:11,460 --> 00:24:13,230
well, I think one
helicopter, but it was pretty

565
00:24:13,230 --> 00:24:15,340
noisy-- circling the area.

566
00:24:15,340 --> 00:24:16,444
But by that time, we'd taken--

567
00:24:16,444 --> 00:24:17,310
DAVID BOOTH: Six pictures.

568
00:24:17,310 --> 00:24:18,560
LIA BASTOCK: Well, Dave
had taken the photo.

569
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:19,259
SUPT.

570
00:24:19,259 --> 00:24:21,440
BOB WAREING: Well, after about
two hours when we finally

571
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,050
saw the enlarged photograph,
we felt considerable relief

572
00:24:25,050 --> 00:24:27,990
when we actually found
out what the animal

573
00:24:27,990 --> 00:24:30,895
was according to the expert
eye that was cast over it.

574
00:24:30,895 --> 00:24:32,750
NARRATOR: And the
expert's verdict?

575
00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:35,981
The beast of Winchmore Hill
was Bilbo, a marmalade tomcat.

576
00:24:35,981 --> 00:24:36,680
CARMEL JARVIS: Yeah.

577
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,500
I learnt the real truth
at about five o'clock when

578
00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:42,130
the police went
down the road saying

579
00:24:42,130 --> 00:24:44,830
that you could now come out.

580
00:24:44,830 --> 00:24:49,610
That they believed that the,
the lioness was actually--

581
00:24:49,610 --> 00:24:51,300
ooh-- a domestic cat.

582
00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:53,940
I don't think he wants to be
a real lion at all. [LAUGHS]

583
00:24:53,940 --> 00:24:57,270
I think Bilbo's quite happy
being a pampered pussy cat.

584
00:24:57,270 --> 00:25:02,455
[LAUGHS] I think if Bilbo ever
met a real lion, he would run.

585
00:25:02,455 --> 00:25:03,375
Run and hide.

586
00:25:03,375 --> 00:25:06,919


587
00:25:06,919 --> 00:25:09,810
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: I hope that
some of the big cats now being

588
00:25:09,810 --> 00:25:13,620
hunted will indeed prove to
be of an unknown species,

589
00:25:13,620 --> 00:25:16,770
or even creatures that
have defied extinction.

590
00:25:16,770 --> 00:25:18,790
But I've one plea
to the hunters.

591
00:25:18,790 --> 00:25:23,410
If you do see a mysterious big
cat, by all means shoot it.

592
00:25:23,410 --> 00:25:25,940
But with a camera,
not with a gun.

593
00:25:25,940 --> 00:25:29,240
Please don't make
it really extinct.

594
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,790
[MUSIC PLAYING]

595
00:25:33,790 --> 00:26:03,267