For decades farmers in the southwest of Australia have been convinced that there are cougars at large in the Australian bush, devastating wildlife and livestock. Hundreds of sightings have been documented in Western Australia, from as far north as Geraldton, south to Esperance and inland to Norseman. Australian journalist David O'Reilly became fascinated with what is known as perhaps Australia's greatest wildlife mystery during his time as the bureau chief of The Australian's Perth office. He interviewed scores of witnesses - farmers, wildlife experts, academics and bureaucrats - and wrote many stories about the hunt for the 'Cordering Cougar', as it became known, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. This book, now back in print for the first time in 30 years, is the culmination of that work.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Neil Arnold
Format:Paperback
During the 1970s and 1980s the moorlands of England's West Country were prowled by a mysterious cat-like animal which became known as the 'beast of Exmoor'. It made national headlines. At the same time, thousands of miles away a creature, resembling a cougar, was lurking in the Australian bush - a place that shouldn't harbour such animals. 'Savage Shadow' was one man's personal quest to dig deep into the sightings and evidence pertaining to a creature than no-one believed in, an elusive animal that became known as the 'Cordering Cougar'. Journalist David O' Reilly wrote a manuscript concerning his investigations and his work reached a cult status, although 'Savage Shadow' would become a largely forgotten work - until now.
All credit must go to editors Rebecca Lang and Mike Williams for bringing this classic book back to life, and with the help of David's family, we can now look at a mystery that has now become regular newspaper fodder, several decades later. David O' Reilly sadly passed away but his legacy lives on. 'Savage Shadow' is written in an almost naive way, no bad thing because it paints a picture of a time when this sort of subject was dismissed, giving the book an air of mystery as David, without fear, dives in feet first to examine the evidence, interview the witnesses, and come up with some startling conclusions; the fact that large cat-like animals have roamed south-west Australia for more than fifty years.
Photographs are few and far between but do show paw prints, sheep kills and scat, so to those who thought such a mystery was simply confined to the British Isles then think again. 'Savage Shadow' is the perfect precursor to the fantastic 'Australian Big Cats' book, and a work that has stood the test of time because its contents have been relevant for not only five decades previous, but also many years to come.
All credit must go to editors Rebecca Lang and Mike Williams for bringing this classic book back to life, and with the help of David's family, we can now look at a mystery that has now become regular newspaper fodder, several decades later. David O' Reilly sadly passed away but his legacy lives on. 'Savage Shadow' is written in an almost naive way, no bad thing because it paints a picture of a time when this sort of subject was dismissed, giving the book an air of mystery as David, without fear, dives in feet first to examine the evidence, interview the witnesses, and come up with some startling conclusions; the fact that large cat-like animals have roamed south-west Australia for more than fifty years.
Photographs are few and far between but do show paw prints, sheep kills and scat, so to those who thought such a mystery was simply confined to the British Isles then think again. 'Savage Shadow' is the perfect precursor to the fantastic 'Australian Big Cats' book, and a work that has stood the test of time because its contents have been relevant for not only five decades previous, but also many years to come.
By El Lince
Format:Paperback
This is a welcome re-print of a hard-to-buy book on feral pumas/cougars which paid a visit to farms in a corner of Western Australia in the late 1970s and early 80s. The author was a journalist at the time, and decided to take a punt on visiting the affected areas and covering the story. He quickly realised something was afoot just from the reactions and emotions of the ordinary farmers and residents in the vicinity. He hardly needed to be shown the direct evidence of neatly dispatched and eaten roos and the tidy livestock kills, and getting his own night-vision glimpse of a large feline moving at explosive speed in the distance. This is a gritty, swashbuckling story of people's realisation of feral big cats entering their world, and the way they came to terms with these near invisible creatures, while the authorities kept dumb on the matter and the rest of the nation just read with fascination or disbelief, or both.
The authors of the equally splendid book, Australian Big Cats, have overseen this republished version. They are to be congratulated on bringing back this gripping case study. The late David O'Reilly was clearly a master journalist, and this book deserves a new profile at a time when the feral big cats in Australia and in Britain still cast their spell, good or bad, depending on your perspective, over corners of our lands, and we still wonder what, if anything, could or should be done. Nature still has the upper-hand sometimes...
The authors of the equally splendid book, Australian Big Cats, have overseen this republished version. They are to be congratulated on bringing back this gripping case study. The late David O'Reilly was clearly a master journalist, and this book deserves a new profile at a time when the feral big cats in Australia and in Britain still cast their spell, good or bad, depending on your perspective, over corners of our lands, and we still wonder what, if anything, could or should be done. Nature still has the upper-hand sometimes...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An all time great Aussie yarn!
26 Dec 2011
By Jasmine
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The story of escapedbig cats in the Australian bush has been an endemic part of Aussie folklore since the early colonization. This book, a reprint of a 1980s classic by a former senior journalist with "The Australian" brilliantly captures the feel, culture and stories of the phenomenon. The stock losses ascribed to cat like predators, the origin myths and the sightings are all well covered as are the candidates in Australian legend ranging from US troops abandoning Puma mascots, circus escapees, oversized feral cats and marsupials believed extinct, such as the Thylacoleo. The focus of this book however, is not so much to explain or catalgue the folkloric phenomenon but instead capturees the feel of the stories and experiences in rural Western Australia culture, as such it makes for a gripping yarn and gives a splendid overview of how people enagge with the stories, the bush and mysterious stock losses and sighting not easily attributable to wild dogs and other known predation. I would have liked to have a had the work fully cited to link to other research and dates but as far as capturing the feel on the phenomenon you can't go past it. Heartily recomended for anyone interested in Australian contemporary rual folk culture and the big cat phenomenon.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
22 Jan 2013
By Len
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Written by a journalist in a journalistic style that let it down. Could have been much better if the writer was an investigative journo
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