April 18th this year, 5:30 pm, good light, I am on route 12 that is the only access to the NC outer banks. Cougars are considered extinct in North Carolina, but a few dozen people came forward on Facebook over the weekend to say they’re still seeing them in North Carolina, no matter what the experts say. Contacted animal control. adapters they are! I am particularily interested in any black cat sightings in or near NC. thank you. Lynn W. 19 months ago The primary food source for a mountain lion would be deer and there is no doubt we have lots of them but so does Georgia and South Carolina. Mountain Lions/ Cougars back in Kentucky!, Kentucky, 116 replies This video of gay lions being gay on Youtube has changed my mental image of lions forever., Politics and Other Controversies, 5 replies Mountain Lions, North Carolina, 28 replies mountain lions, Colorado, 5 replies “I know I’ll catch some flack for this,” posted Billy Hensley on Saturday. I saw it in an area where I normally spot deer. 151 likes. Your continued support makes local journalism like this possible. Im assuming it was standjng up but i could only see the eyes and a faint siloutte of the head. he trys to just take these seniors doing this so the farmers will be satisfied without him having to take the whole pack. According to Donald W. Linzey’s notes in Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1995), the last mountain lion killed in the Great Smokies was back in the early winter of 1920: “Tom Sparks was said to have been attacked by a panther while herding sheep on Spence Field. VaRandy 2 years ago Unfortunately, mountain lions in North Carolina … However, they have tremendous ranges, hundreds of miles, so they are definitely returning. I couldn't see much cause the fire was out and I just had my head lamp. We heard something moving through our campsite when the metal on the stove started scraping. I didn't get a view of it, but a friend and I heard a big cat's scream at very close range while playing outside, and were absolutely terrified but thankfully we were close to the house and ran inside safely. He looked me straight in the eyes before taking off down the trail leading to a stream. "North Carolina Department of Transportation crews picked up debris off of I-40 last Wednesday near Ridgecrest and Black Mountain, and no dead … This year the coyotes seem to be a lot bigger and healthier looking -- I am thinking that is due to the larger herds of mule deer. The old ones will sometimes try to take livestock and I know a coyote hunter who works for farmers . There are Mountain lions in North Carolina. Oh! It started Saturday, when a chef in Morganton sheepishly admitted on a Facebook page devoted to Bigfoot research that he believes he saw a cougar -- also known as a mountain lion -- near the incorporated community of Nebo in western North Carolina. And I was to tired to drag it to the car so I just drug it about 25 yards away. He spotted me & went running into the woods. Fish and Wildlife Service says that most sightings turn out to be b… “There was one outside of my son’s school once and all the kids saw it. He told the Charlotte Observer he had gotten off from work in Morganton and was driving through Nebo near neighboring McDowell County when he saw what looked like a cougar “jump across the road” 75 yards in front of his vehicle. Scars under mouth, across snout, on neck, side and rump. We live in Cedar Mountain, N.C. On October 23rd, I was out before sunrise, walking my dog. “Definitely a cougar, like you saw...I’ve seen bobcats too and they’re not even close to the same size, length, and of course the tails are different.”, “I think it’s condescending and dismissive when wildlife biologists or whoever say that they aren’t around when people obviously are seeing them,” wrote Tiffinay Al-Maqtari on Facebook. Brad Howard, who is a North Carolina state biologist, wrote in a report that there would be a lot more evidence if cougars were still in the area. The U.S. We have a lot of coyotes in our area and I am always on the lookout for them. We have 2-foot-long squirrels? They were common enough well into the 19th century throughout Western North Carolina. According to Donald W. Linzey’s notes in Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (UNC Press, 1995), the last mountain lion killed in the Great Smokies was in the early winter of 1920. We ended up leaving because we didn't know enough about behaviors and would it come back. Usually, it’s a house cat, bobcat, coyote, even dogs or black bears that have been misidentified as cougars.”. August 2015 It then jumped up in the tree about 10 feet up. The cougar (also known as mountain lion, panther, painter, catamount, puma, and other names) was once one of the most widely distributed mammals in the Western Hemisphere. “There are no known cougars in North Carolina,” Jodie Owens of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission told the Observer. That cat was so fast that even if I had a camera at the ready I doubt that the picture would have come out well. Mystery winner was among five nationally whose tickets scored highest prize besides jackpot in the lottery drawing. At this point I was a little freaked out so I threw another rock. Few large animals have generated more lore throughout North Carolina than the cougar. “I was stunned but knew what I saw wasn’t a dog or anything else for that matter,” he told the Observer, adding that he was surprised at the response to his admission. A recent press release from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission declared as a hoax a photo of a mountain lion dragging a deer that was making its way around the internet, often claiming to be somewhere in western North Carolina. You know this one ran on another site for two years and received hundreds of comments. If you talk to local people deep in the NC and VA mountains you can get stories about cougar sightings. Mountain Lions Mountain Lions In NC, September 2016 There are no known mountain lions in North Carolina. The Black Mountain Lions Club is Part of Lions Clubs International the worlds largest service organization. They are just incredibly elusive.”. No way it was that small. The eMammal project has placed cameras in 30 parks larger than 10 km2 from Tennessee and South Carolina North to Maryland. Hey, Brenda, if you have any wild animal you have pics of and would write a first person story about, you know it would be most welcome on Carolina Critters! Cougars, panthers, mountain lions, they all refer to the same animal. She believes that North American mountain lions—including the Florida panther, which she said is protected because “they are considered a distinct population segment via the Endangered Species Act”—are essentially all the same, without enough genetic distinctions to justify differentiating the western and eastern subspecies. N.C. Wildlife Resources officials told the Charlotte Observer that Eastern Cougars are an extinct species of large cat that is now only found in part of Florida. We have Elk roaming the area now that were imported, along with deer, rabbits, groundhogs and other prey that would attract a mountain lion. At the time of European settlement it occupied a wide range of habitats from Canada well into parts of South America, and was found throughout the continental United States. Do they know it? It had jumped up next to a tree on a little hill. Still, reported sightings persist, as indicated by response to Billy Hensley’s Facebook post. Mountain Lions, or "Painters", as they were often called in the past, were fairly common in the N. C. mountains up until the 20th century. It was not a bobcat.”, “I’ve seen one about a half mile from my house in Green Mountain - which is in Yancey County,” posted Kim Owens-Mayhew on Facebook. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Eastern cougar or eastern puma (Puma concolor couguar) refers to the extirpated population of cougars that live in northeastern North America, which some authorities have considered to be a subspecies. Except for the dastardly poachers we have come a long way. Black Mountain Lions Club. “We get lots of reports every year from folks who think they’ve seen a cougar. The eastern cougars were unofficially deemed extinct by a U.S. We did get a pic if the claw prints on the tree next to my girlfriends hands but we were so freaked out we didn't think to check for tracks down by the stream. So enjoyable. There are mountain lions in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but wildlife officials still call them extinct and haven’t done much to support their populations. Mountain lions were functionally extinct in the Midwest by 1860, the mid-Atlantic states by 1882, in the south coastal states by 1886, in central Appalachia by 1900, and in New England by 1906. To … Running 55 headed south and am 2.5 miles above Oregon Inlet when a big black cat enters the road running from the Sound Side to the Ocean side. Alas, my camera lens was not strong enough for me to get a good photo. 11 Terrifying Things In North Carolina That Can (And Just Might) Kill You. “It was huge and had a tail 3 feet long. We also have black bear wandering into the neighborhood occasionally. I personally have seen Mountain Lion in NC. We often see a warning sign that bears are active. Deer and raccoon caught kissing in the dark on camera. Interesting photos from Yellowstone showing deer seen 2 years running near fishing spot. As he rose, I saw his long black tail. I watched it as it tracked along the water and went up the other hill as I could still see its eyes for about 5 minutes. Then my friend's mother said she had seen a full size black panther in the yard once before, so she believed us, and figured that we must have run into it. Cat appears to be watching farm dwellings before making its next move.~ courtesy of brokenhousefarm.com, Lake Fontana and the Great Smoky Mountains. Appalachians Though the government states the species is extinct, hundreds of sightings are still reported on a daily basis, particularly after the 2011 sighting of a mountain lion in Greenwich, Conn. South American Jaguars were in the Pa and Ohio valleys in the 1500;s but were last recognized as being in the US in 1920 reign in Texas and Arizona. The Marjorie McCune Community is a licensed Adult Care Home owned and operated by the Lions of Western North Carolina and located in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in a country setting. I heard about one sighted on Pilot Mountain. ON THE TRACK OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIONS. I saved the ones telling of folks sightings and encounters and hope soon to add them on here. He was a dull deep black, had a long powerful tail, had short legs (shorter than a mountain lion) had round shaped ears and a pattern on his face. And for the first time I saw the silhouette of the entire thing and it looked 6 or 7 feet long because it was wrapped around the tree. August 2016 My cat was lean and mean and only 65 lbs estimated weight. He was lying down in a field, approximately 75/80 yards away. “But I will swear this to my grave: I have seen a cougar not once but twice in Nebo in the past month or so.”. In speaking with others on the island,I find it is not all that special to see one between where I saw mine and Manteo. But the response to the column headed “Mountain Lions in WNC?” in the Dec. 10 issue of the paper has been — in our experience — over the top. But I've read about bobcats and they say they're around 40lbs. As a writer, I’m a natural worst-case scenario expert. His feline, tawny features were apparent. I know they are a very reclusive animal but Florida and these other states do not seem to have such a saturation of Mountain Lions that they would even feel pressured to expand into North Carolina. I can send the pic if you'd like. As we crested a hill, I saw what I believe to be a Panther. “It’s amazing how many people came out of the wood work to tell about their sightings.”. My family and I do a lot of mountain hiking. I got plaster casts of the cats prints. I saw them in both the Sierra Nevadas and in the White/Inyo Range of Eastern California. we would have stronger evidence if the large cats were still living in the state. I was living in Asheboro, NC at the time. He was trying to dig out a groundhog that lives there. Now that would be interesting watching a bobcat try and dig-out a groundhog! I love to read about wild animals. I truly admire this friend for doing it that way. June 2015 “At some point in time over the last 100 years, a cat would have been hit by a car, shot by someone or otherwise documented coming into the state,” Howard wrote. Two mountain lion kittens found orphaned in January in southeast Idaho were moved earlier this month to a zoo in the mountains of North Carolina. Mountain lion found trapped inside California family's bathroom Authorities search for mountain lion that bit 8-year-old on the head EXCLUSIVE: Standoff between mountain lion, coyotes caught on camera The new boulevard of two years ago cut through the lion's territory, so we do not see the big cats anymore. I can not locate anyone in this area who is tracking or studying Cougars/Mountain Lions/Pumas. I know you're not crazy! March 2015 I was driving very slow one morning in 2012 on a dirt road when I came upon one weighing about 125-150. I even had some kind of run in with a big cat myself when I was a kid, in Hickory NC. Cougars Fishing Creek 1987- track discovered next year about a half mile downstream from this spot. Mountain lions were common enough well into the 19th century throughout North Carolina. Normally I keep the ice chest in the car but we've camped there a 1000 times and only dealt with an occasional raccoon or possum. The cougar is a big cat known by many names including panther, mountain lion, puma and up to 80 more, but these are all the same species, Puma concolor. Instead of being mocked, Hensley’s post was met with comment after comment from people who say they’ve also seen what they believed is a cougar in the region. I spent two weeks looking at all that could be learned from the internet. As the sun rose, I watched him closely. Mountain Lions in the State of Louisiana. There have also been sightings in Georgia, as well as North and South Carolina, and small populations are returning to states such as Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas. I am a retired research station manager who has seen Mountain Lions in the past. Forest near Asheville. Cougars, also known as mountain lions, were once common here and they have left a legacy of place names throughout the state— indeed, the entire Southeast. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) receives calls each year in reference to large cat sightings. Traditionally, there have been two recognized subspecies of cougar or mountain lion in the eastern United States. It was beautiful to see even if the people who are the "animal experts" who sit behind a desk and will not investigate do not believe. The animal crossed the trail roughly 50 feet in front of me and appeared to be a tawny female who was either nursing or was pregnant based on her profile. The black melanistic phase was said to be the color in SA in about 8 per cent of the population and a mention was made that a much higher incident happened in captive animals. But its eyes were 3-4 feet off the ground. Few large animals have generated more lore throughout North Carolina than the cougar. North Carolina state biologist Brad Howard said in a report that we would have stronger evidence if the large cats were still living in the state. Your right my friend, less hunting means more prey for them. I will be on the lookout for bears and other critter traces for you. I asked a neighbor and he confirmed he had seen him a number of times. Saw him clearly. I am so glad to see this Critters blog, Alastar. Their reply "that is a large cat". Cougars are considered extinct in North Carolina, but a few dozen people came forward on Facebook over the weekend to say they’re still seeing them in North Carolina… Serving the less fortunate in our community. There has been a lot of tree clearing in that area that I think may have caused him to be out of his natural habitat. Despite their extirpation from the east, there are hundreds of reports each year to state and federal wildlife agencies of cougar and black panther sightings. Someone’s $2 ticket hit a big Mega Millions win in N.C. on Friday. February 2016 This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. It jumped off and I saw the long tail as it ran down the hill to the little river in the valley. Cougars, also known as mountain lions, were once common here and they have left a legacy of place names throughout the state— indeed, the entire Southeast. Many ridges, creeks, swamps and mountains were long Supposedly, Mountain Lions were all killed by the 1930's in western North Carolina. So, I am very happy to see this new Critters site to read about animals in your neck of the woods. Last summer I saw a bobcat in the back cow pasture. Josh Brown 18 months ago Other neighbors have also seen him and we all agree that it is a Mountain Lion, not a bobcat. It is thrilling Brenda! Staring with "painters" is a wonderful kickoff. Their body weight ranges from 100 to 220 pounds. North Carolina is a beautiful state, but looks can be deceiving. We have had a few mountain lions come right in as close as our swimming pool in the complex, chasing jack rabbits. COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 13, Davidson College pleads with students after 3 British variant COVID cases confirmed, NC reports over 4,000 new COVID cases, fourth day of fewer hospitalizations, Icy winter storm leaves 2,000 without power in Mecklenburg County on Saturday, Mecklenburg wants Cardinal out, blames ‘vicious cycle’ of mental health care problems. Healer 21 months ago Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. This occurred in 1978 in the Georgia mountains and the gentleman corresponded with a study that was researching whether the cats were still in the state, I believe, of North Carolina. In 2009, Jenkins responded to a call after several residents at Jasmine Cove apartment complex reported seeing a “large cat” in the surrounding woods. It is such a hauntingly beautiful sound -- I rather miss that. After a private jet ride across the country paid for by a private donor, the young mountain lions arrived at their new home, Grandfather Mountain, a small zoo with a focus on native wildlife housed in natural habitats. The U.S. They take the bears way out to the wilderness and release them. They told me it was impossible and that I needed video or pictures. Anyway after the ice chest thump I jumped up with my head lamp and opened the tent intending to scare off a raccoon. It was a Melanistic phase JAGUAR because the black cats come only from Jaguars and Leopards. Unrestricted hunting -- with bounty's paid for the "varmints" - and the extensive timber cutting by the sometimes voracious lumber companies, took a … My sighting was 40 miles north of my home. And immediately I could see the glowing eyes. “So, while the stories are fun and the legends are as old as our state, the legendary cat of the mountains and the swamps is just that, a legend.”. Great Smoky Mountains But have been googling for hours. He was the only confirmed mountain lion in all of Connecticut but was seen several times right after he arrived in the state before being accidentally killed. I believe a few remain way back in the mountains where mankind seldom ventures. Concerning North Carolina big cats... On July 30, 2017 at about 7:30 pm I spotted a lion on the Mountain to Sea Trail that parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC. The city of Simpsonville has also received calls about mountain lions over the years, according to Colleen Jenkins, an animal code enforcement officer for the city. His face had a definite pattern which you can find online easily and had to be made by gray hair on the black as there was no trace of white or tan on him. PO Box 1896 | Sacramento, California | 95812 916-442-2666 | info@mountainlion.org It was at least 80-90lbs from when I got a good look when it was wrapped around the tree. “Billy, we jumped one at Lake James one night on expedition,” posted John Bruner. June 2014, Purported Mt.Lion pic taken on trail cam in the Pisgah Natl. We laid still for a couple minutes then heard a thump on the ice chest. Beyond those rugged waves, gentle foothills, and beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains is tons of unexpected danger. NC biologists posted a photo of one and it’s huge. I think my girlfriend had one come into our camp site in Raven Cliffs in North Georgia about 1am. I posted a picture of what I saw and got a call today by a lady I then visited to find that 2 weeks ago she witnessed for 20 minutes what apparantly also does not exist, the eastern cougar only 1/4 mile from where I live. Visitors occasionally report seeing mountain lions, however, no concrete scientific evidence of their existence (such as tracks, scat, or other signs) has been found in the area in nearly 30 years. All There are many sightings of the black cat in NC and many other states and the hunting community can only laugh at those denying cougars as anyone with serious woods time is likely to spot one. We also have the NC red wolf here that was reintroduced to the same swamps the above cats occupy. At full size, males are an unmissable 6-to-8-feet long and can weigh 150 pounds, say state officials. She said hers was more like 50 lbs, where I estimated mine at 65. The Lion had the same idea as the experienced outdoorsman did concerning what was a pretty good-sized turkey flock. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluation in 2011. North Carolina. Mount Airy is my hometown! Sign up for Afternoon Headlines and get the day’s biggest stories in your inbox. I used to hear their cries at night up on the mountain behind me. NC biologists are perplexed. Physical Description: Mountain lions are beautiful animals with tawny-colored coats (ranging from brown to reddish or grayish) and no markings. So I walked about 10 yards closer really slowly and grabbed a rock from the fire ring and tossed it over. Animal Control bring out the German Shepherds to tree the bear, then a dart with knock out meds is shot to the bear's hind side. I contacted the NC Zoo. Eli Plantz 15 months ago I am so thrilled to see the Critters tab added to your website. Raccoons prowling campgrounds for unsecured human food are second only to bears in causing wildlife problems for visitors. One of the biggest misconceptions about North Carolina wildlife is the existence of cougars, or black panthers, in our state. Many were defensive, too, knowing they’ll be accused of misidentifying a bobcat as a cougar. Luckily my dog didn't see him.