Tue, 28 Oct 97, reader writes:
I am in a desperate search for information on the Aboriginal tale of the Minjin. It is a mythological cat-like creature that lurked in the forests of Queensland, Australia. I cannot find anything on this subject, could you help me?
Tue, 28 Oct 97, Otherplane's reply to reader:
We searched the Australian Museum's On Line (AMOL) and could not find any mention of "Minjin." Still curious if this "Minjin" was real or not, we went to our source for assistance and this is what we got...
The Minjin lived for over 10,000 years, then went into extinction around 1,200 years ago. They lived only on the Australian Continent and resembled a domestic house cat, only smaller but not soft-bodied like the domestic cat. All of the Minjin's were dark in color and they had no tail. They averaged 7 babies per litter and their average adult weight was 8 pounds. Their life expectancy was 3 years and they were "meat-eaters," often eating their own.
The reason for their extinction had to do in part to their not being able to evolve. There are no living descendants or relatives of the Minjin.
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