Yowie Attacks Campervan
Elderly Australian couple shaken up by mysterious night visitor

A Yowie - Australia's answer to Bigfoot rocked an elderly couple's campervan, as they took part in a weekend stakeout for the creature. Dean Harrison, who heads Yowie hunters, a Queensland group dedicated to searching for the elusive wildman, said the incident took place in a rugged, undisclosed location, west of Gympie. Around 2 am on the morning of 11 March, the couple felt their van shaking. "We are over the moon, we are so excited," said Mr. Harrison. "This thing had run up to the van and given it such a bang that the man inside, George, had almost fallen out of bed." Scientists have yet to prove the existence of the mystery beast, known variously as a Yahoo, Doolegard, Dulagal, or Quinkin. However, sightings go right back to the founding of the colony and Aboriginal traditions of similar-sounding creatures is even older. They vary in size from hairy dwarves to 12 ft (3.6m) giants. The Aborigines believed in two sorts; the smaller one is junjudees or brown jacks, small hairy men who seem to fill the same niche as elves and fairies in the northern hemisphere. In recent decades, Yowies have been seen mostly in remote and mountainous country - from northern Queensland to Victoria, and occasionally further west. The creatures have built up a dedicated following, eager to prove their existence.

George, whose surname was not available, thought that whatever was shaking the van might have been one of the group playing a practical joke on them and got out of bed. "He opened the door and this thing ran off through the bush," Mr. Harrison said. "He didn't get a good look at it, but he heard the foliage breaking and the footsteps." Mr. Harrison said that the group had been unable to capture the unknown creature on film despite using movement-sensing equipment, heat-seeking devices, infrared spotlights and video recorders, night vision scopes and sound recorders. But he said the "definitely not human" creature had left huge footprints measuring around 16 in (40 cm) by 8 in (20 cm) each. Photographs had been taken and casts were being made to preserve them. The "Yowie" had also defecated and the group had collected the stool for analysis.

Source: Fortean Times.