Mystery creature perplexes teacher

A ring-tailed lemur takes a sunbath at the zoo in Duisburg, western Germany. A Rockhampton woman believes she spotted a mystery creature that looked like a lemur in the city.

MARTIN MEISSNER

A ROCKHAMPTON woman is asking for help after spotting a mysterious animal in Brecknell St about 11pm on Tuesday.

The woman, who says she is not prone to flights of fancy or imagining strange things, describes the animal as looking a lot like a lemur.

“It is driving me crazy with wondering and even though I feel silly asking. I thought someone might have heard of something,” the woman said.

“I was coming down Brecknell St when I saw an animal running along the footpath/grass on the cemetery side of Upper Dawson Rd heading in the direction of the cemetery,” the woman said.

“I was quite startled,” she said.

She said the animal's tail was not bushy like that of a fox and it was way too big to be a cat.

She has ruled out a dog because its head shape and tail were wrong.

“I turned left onto Upper Dawson Rd with my high-beam lights on and followed it,” the woman said.

“It moved quickly but did not streak away like a cat would – its tail was held out behind it horizontal to the ground; it trotted very rapidly.

“I got a quick look at it in the high-beam light before it ducked under the cemetery fence and disappeared.”

She said its fur seemed to be quite thick and fairly short, a mid-brown colour with lighter rings on the tail and a light-coloured tip.

“I had a look on the internet and it did look quite a lot like a lemur, except the rings on the tail were not a bright contrast with the rest of the fur and I'm not sure a lemur trots rapidly,” she said.

“I had not been drinking ... I am a high school teacher.”

If you can help call Morning Bulletin reporter Adam Wratten on 4930 4281.