(Original headline: Big cat survivor faces his demons)
Nicholas Pearce yesterday returned to a small track where a big cat stalked him earlier this week.
But this time the Winchelsea man, 24, took reinforcements. There's no way he'd make the trip alone now.
``That's where it was,'' he said, pointing to a log in nearby bush. He remembered hearing the rustle of bush as he took a break from a punishing up-hill ride on his mountain bike on the Bambra State Forest track.
``I was looking, watching, and all of a sudden it came out,'' he said.
``It took a couple of seconds to hit me that it wasn't a roo or wallaby coming towards me.''
Mr Pearce went quiet before admitting he didn't want another face-to-face encounter with the labrador-sized black feline.
``Not unless I've got a gun,'' he said.
Simon Townsend of Freshwater Creek and mate John Turner of Barwon Heads walked carefully through the bush. They started collecting information on big cat sightings years ago and wanted a first-hand look at the scene of Tuesday's encounter that left Mr Pearce pedalling for his life.
Mr Townsend, a Veterans Affairs officer and a former Melbourne Zoo keeper, said the area, southwest of Wensleydale where farms met bush, was rich with big cat reports over the past decades.
He said the latest sighting was ``disturbing''.
``The fact it was confrontational, that deserves consideration,'' Mr Townsend said.
``. . . It was coming to check you out, but if it meant business mate, you wouldn't be here.''
He implored people to report big cat sightings to the Sustainability and Environment Department.
``Every DSE office is supposed to have a form for reported sightings at their front desk,'' he said.
Mr Pearce retraced on foot his frantic ride from the stalking big cat. Yesterday there was the sound of black cockatoos and koalas, the rustle of ribbons of bark hanging of manna gums. On Tuesday there was the laboured sound of his breathing as he punished his legs and his mountain bike to move as fast as possible.
``I want to be able to come back here by myself,'' Mr Pearce said.
``But there's no way I'll come back unless there's a group of people with me.''
He remained confident he'd seen a big cat, not a feral cat.
``It's annoying there's so many sightings but people still won't believe. I challenge them to come out here by themselves,'' Mr Pearce said.
People can report sightings to Simon Townsend on 0417 127 219 or John Turner on 0409 966 439.
See also: Aussie Big Cat Cover-Up
