Pumas or Panthers in NC ????

I was wondering if you guys have seen or heard of any reports of large black cats. (not domestic) I know hunting season is in. My dad said he seen one and I'm not sure what he really seen. You know how hunters and fishermen stretch the truth sometimes. I've looked on line and have really not be able to find anything.

 

No big cats, but I have seen a bear on Steel Bridge Road, right off of 1010! :shock:

 

It's possible..................there have been some sightings up near our hometown in VA, (Southwest) We have heard that they have been re-introducing some of the predator species up there, but don't know for sure. Maybe they are doing the same here. A baby bobcat followed my Aunts cat into the house a few weeks ago. :shock: I would have peed my britches and wondered where "momma" was. They have lots of black bears that aren't shy about coming to the house either. The Aunt's husband came face-to-face w/one on the porch this summer too. :shock:

 

We have Mountain Lions in the Western part of the state. Not aware of anything else other than Illegals.

 

bobcats and bears are both in the area, few and far between but are becoming more and more... panthers have not heard or seen any of these around, I will do some checking as many of my friends and family hunt all over the state..

 

My dad has one of those motion activated cameras chained to a tree out there where he hunts. I'm going to download them and see if he got a picture of it. He was so excited when he called me this morning.

 

Eastern NC did have a Carolina Panther probably over a century ago from what I've read, but disappeared. I'd say its still possible for migratory cats to move to better hunting grounds. Certainly there's enough deer to feed them.
There's been reports of mysterious cat sightings for years in numerous states where pumas were not thought to exist. I also read an article in the Carolina Weekly about the Bladensboro incident involving some sort of mysterious carnivore several decades ago. It was documented in area newspapers and for a week, there were at least 1,000 hunters searching the Bladen County swampy areas trying to find the 'beast'.

 

My uncle lives in Asheville, and many years ago we were sitting on his back porch and saw one in his back yard.

 

Unconfirmed siting July 4th week at Jordan Lake.

I say unconfirmed because it was MINE, but I didn't have the wits about me to get the camera.


Frogger

 

I think I saw one a few years ago cross hwy 41 in the Ash Pole Swamp just South of Fairmont NC. I was not real close but it sure did not look like a dog or a bear. Yea-that is the real name of the swamp. My father in law swears he got a close up look at one in the same area a few years earlier.

 

Beware of coyotes as well, I have seen a few red foxes too.

 

I'm not sure we really understand the probems the coyotes could cause us in the near future-But then that would be an effective way to deal with you cat problems Cleo. Unfortunately they can really throw an ecosystem out of wack.

 

I know, that's what happened to my cat a few years ago!!!

 

Eastern Cougar?



http://www.fws.gov/nc-es/mammal/cougar.html

[FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Description: The eastern cougar is described as a large, unspotted, long-tailed cat. Its body and legs are a uniform fulvous or tawny hue. Its belly is pale reddish or reddish white. The inside of this cat's ears are light-colored, with blackish color behind the ears. Cougars feed primarily on deer, but their diet may also include small mammals, wild turkeys, and occasionally domestic livestock, when available.[/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Habitat:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1] No preference for specific habitat types has been noted. The primary need is apparently for a large wilderness area with an adequate food supply. Male cougars of other subspecies have been observed to occupy a range of 25 or more square miles, and females from 5 to 20 square miles. [/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Distribution and Range:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Sightings of large cats have been reported in many areas of North Carolina. However, most of these reports are unconfirmed as cougars, and none have been the eastern subspecies. The eastern cougar is considered by many to be extirpated from North Carolina.[/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Listing:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1] The Eastern Cougar was listed as Endangered on June 4, 1973 under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (as amended).[/SIZE][/FONT]



[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Your Help...[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning a review of scientific and commercial information to determine the status of the endangered eastern cougar, the first review the Service has done since publishing a recovery plan in 1982.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]As part of the review, the Service is seeking information on the status of the eastern cougar in the 21 states -- from Maine to South Carolina and west from Michigan to Tennessee -- where the Endangered Species Act protects it. Lacking definitive evidence of the species' existence, the Service has presumed the eastern cougar to be extinct. It is improbable that a small cougar population persisted in the eastern states for over a century. Most of the confirmed cougar records since 1950 (animals killed, good quality photos/videos, genetic evidence) are known to be escapes of captive origin. There may be thousands of captive cougars in the eastern United States.[/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Anyone wishing to submit information regarding the eastern cougar may do so by writing to:[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Eastern Cougar[/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif]Northeast Regional Office[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif]U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif]300 Westgate Center Drive[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif]Hadley, MA 01035[/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]or by email to EasternCougar@fws.gov. Information must be received by March 30, 2007, for the status review, although the Service will continue to accept new information about eastern cougars at any time.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica,arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]For additional information on the eastern cougar, see www.fws.gov/northeast/ECougar.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=-1][FONT=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Questions related to the Service's endangered species program or other program activities can be addressed to the appropriate staff from our Asheville or Raleigh Field Offices.[/SIZE][/FONT]​

[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

 

http://www.easterncougar.org/pages/beyondsightings.htm

This was informative too!!

 

Although, according to this map: http://www.easterncougarnet.org/bigpicture.html

....it does not seem likely your Dad saw a cougar??

Big cats intrigue me! Can you tell?:lol:

 

We have a few Bobcats (or Lynx) in the area. Mostly they live & travel along the major creeks in our area of JoCo. (Swift, Middle & Black Creeks)

They do -NOT- look much like "Mittens" or "Fluffly" and they are not as large as a Couger or Mountain Lion out west. They have a very unusual cat like call. It will raise your neck hairs! :shock: The mostly black version was called a "catamount" by old timers.

My cousin, the family big game hunter, has killed two bobcats in the last 5+/- years along our creek wild area.

 

Then again, the map seems to show confirmed sightings OUTSIDE of the recognized range. And then there is this:

There is no reason to think that cougars native to the East were significantly different in biology or behavior than cougars out West. Below are some basic facts about cougars. To find more information, see the Bibliography and Related Links.

Original Range: Cougars were native throughout most of North and South America when European colonizers arrived in 1492. Except for tundra, which offers no cover from which to ambush prey, cougars lived in every type of habitat from coastal swamps to high elevation mountains.

 

:shock: :shock: :shock: See the red dot in West Virginia?? That's pretty close to where I was speaking of earlier. Same mountain range. Entirely possible. I cousin swears he saw a black one earlier this summer and he is not known for flights of fancy.

 

:shock:
Though I AM intrigued by big cats, I don't want to run up on one in the woods.:shock: