Enormous feral cat captured with dead sand goanna in its mouth in Australia’s rugged Simpson Desert

A mammoth feral cat has been spotted in the Simpson desert making a meal out of a goanna.

Researchers captured the cat on film at the Ethabuka Reserve near the Queensland-Northern Territory border. 

The enormous feline was seen walking through an area being recorded by wildlife cameras set up to study decomposing animals. 

University of Sydney researcher Emma Spencer told ABC News feral cats usually feed off mice and birds, but they have been known to scavenge larger animals. 

‘This goanna could weigh up to six kilograms, that’s quite large prey for a cat,’ she said.

‘But I definitely say that a cat that size would be very capable of taking out a sand goanna,’ she said. 

She told the North West Star while they don’t have the kill on camera, the cat didn’t happen upon a dead goanna but was directly responsible. 

‘Sand goannas are very strong creatures and very fast so they are difficult to kill,’ she said.

‘There’s no doubt the cat killed this goanna.’

Biosecurity officials weren’t phased by the size of the feline or its choice of food. 

There are an estimated 5.6million feral cats across 99.8 per cent of Australia according to Biosecurity Queensland. 

The species species usually feast on reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, fish and amphibians.  

Biosecurity Queensland principal scientist Matthew Gentle said it’s not the first time they’ve seen a feral cat take on much larger prey.

‘We’ve seen similar photos through our research of cats dragging back killed wallabies … to feed offspring,’ he said.   

The photo was taken back in 2018, but only discovered two years later. 

Researchers uncovered the image while trawling through footage off the wildlife cameras earlier this month.   

Social media platform Reddit blew up over the image, with many astounded by the cat’s size.

One suggested feral cats would ‘evolve to be the size of tigers’ in 30 generations, while others shared their own stories of encounters with the wild animals.

Many took it as an opportunity to call for better management of cat species, because of their impact on Australia’s native wildlife. 

‘It’s time to seriously consider a ban on all feline pets. They are destroying local wildlife, soon they’ll have an impact on the environment,’ one wrote.

Feral cats collectively kill more than three billion animals a year across Australia

Since 1788 the species has played a significant role in the extinction of 34 mammal species, and population declines for another 123 threatened native species.