Now that we are nearing the end of this series it is becoming difficult to find options of things to do for letters such as Q, X and Z. So, I have chosen this relatively obscure cryptid that is known as the Queensland Tiger. I will try and put as much in on it as possible, but it is so obscure it is most likely to be more relative in length to one of my Obscure Encounters posts, which by the way you should check out.
Featured Photo: By Osado from Wikimedia. License.
As can be seen it appears to be one of those so-called Alien Big Cats, which means an exotic cat species that appears to be living in an area that it does not belong, the UK is widely known for this such as from the beast of Bodmin Moor and the Beast of Dartmoor, among others. Many other places and localities around the world also have their very own Alien Big Cats. Most of them are likely just mis-identification of usual animals, but there is a chance also that they are escaped big cats that were sent out by their owners who had been keeping them illegally, or in some places it could be an animal that exists that is believed to be extinct, or an ancestor from it.
This is one of the explanations of the Queensland Tiger. Some people also say it is proof that the Thylacine isn’t fully extinct, if true this would not make it an Alien Big Cat, but rather a lost native animal. The Thylacine was once the largest known carnivorous marsupial and once lived across mainland Australia and on the island of New Guinea, the last ones died out on the Australian island of Tasmania. Many residents of Tasmania though believe the creature still exists with numerous sightings reported on the island. The Thylacine once existing in mainland Australia also leaves the possibility of tiny populations still alive there as well, giving a possible explanation to the Queensland Tiger. The last zoo-captive Thylacine died in 1936 and the last known Thylacine was captured in 1933 on the island of Tasmania and they were declared extinct in 1936, with Thylacine bounty hunting, to protect livestock from Thylacine attacks being blamed as a large factor.
There is also the possibility of it being another animal from within the Thylacoleo genus that has survived on in tiny populations or is a descendent from them.
The Queensland Tiger has a very similar description to that of a Thylacoleo type animal, such as it being fairly small for a usual big cat, normally the size of a large dog, such as an Alsatian and is also striped, similar to Thylacines and is described as looking similar to a Marsupial, rather than a big cat.
Most of the sightings happened in the 1940s and 1950s with significantly less reported sightings after that time period, giving the possibility that whatever it was has since died or at least, if it was a small population, that population has become significantly smaller, as there is still the odd sighting every now and again. Back when the sightings were at their highest there were a number of expeditions that were launched in an attempt to capture the so-called Queensland Tiger, which has mainly been sighted in and around the Queensland city of Maryborough and town of Gympie area, but none of the expeditions have been successful in finding any solid evidence, with only the occasional footprint.
But expeditions still happen from time to time when a group of sightings happen to be reported, with one of the latest searches only recently happening as early as 2018! Perhaps yet something will be discovered, but it remains to be seen.
Since the above was quite short I will also add on another short about another creature beginning with Q, this one called the Qiqirn. It has two Q’s!
The Qiqirn is the spirit of a large bald dog that is a part of Innuit folklore, the Innuit are an indigenous people of the North Polar regions such as certain places in Canada, Greenland and Alaska, living in the harsher conditions and are normally relatively isolated from the modern world.
The Innuit people are said to be terrified of this beastly spirit that prowls their lands. The beast itself though is also described as being easily scared and also fooled, as many times upon seeing men or their companions it to will also run away. If it does not run away though the beast can apparently be scared away by shouting or making loud sounds.
The spirit dog as described is mostly bald but does have a few pieces of fur on its feet, ears, mouth and tip of its tail. Normal dogs are also described as running away from this spirit as well. Also, apparently if a person gets too close to the bald spirit dog they may suffer fits and seizures.
It’s all very spooky! Not only is one party getting spooked by this hairless dog spirit, but the hairless dog spirit itself also appears to be a scaredy-dog!
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