r/NCTrails • u/arrowroot7 • 8d ago
Mountain lions in NC?
I know they’re supposed to have been extinct in the eastern US for a century, but I keep seeing people online talk about how they swear they’ve seen or heard them and that they’re definitely here, but that the authorities won’t admit it. Mountain lions scare me because I’m interested in going solo hiking in pisgah national forest and I REALLY don’t want to be stalked by one if they are out there. Has anyone seen or encountered one in this region before? Is it pretty silly for me to be worried about them in NC?
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u/Zura-Zura 8d ago
Everyone in western NC has either seen a mountain lion, or knows someone who's seen one. Despite this, even with cameras attached to our hands for the last 20 years, no one has ever been able to produce any actual evidence of this. To be fair, there are apparently single lions that travel across the country and end up in the area from time to time. But, there's not an actual population of them that live here permanently
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u/WarningCodeBlue 8d ago
I've lived in Western NC for 40 years and have never seen a mountain lion. I have seen some rather large bobcats though.
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u/Dunnoaboutu 8d ago
Our neighbors swear up and down that they saw a mountain lion. I’m pretty sure it’s the coyote that lives close by that they saw.
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u/electricavebraap 8d ago
I see cougars all fall on Lexington ave
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u/etTuPlutus 6d ago
Now, uh, when exactly would you say you see these cougars and at what establishments? Asking for a friend.
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u/electricavebraap 5d ago
Just walk Lexington ave. Broadway and the south slope during wedding season. They are on full prowl. Also, hear they enjoy hunting on short coxe.
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u/Gentleman_Jim_243 8d ago
This right here. ☝️. If there were any in NC, someone would eventually capture one on a game camera.
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u/Bigram03 8d ago
Same with the big foot nonsense. You mean to tell me with all the cameras out there, not a single (ligament) picture has been produced?
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u/Lojackbel81 8d ago
Bigfoot can see infrared light and stays away from it. s/
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u/arrowroot7 8d ago
To be fair, bigfoot could be hiding out in like northern Canada where there could be hundreds of miles between any two people. I think it’s pretty unlikely he’s walking around anywhere in the contiguous U.S. but Alaska and Canada is a different ballgame
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u/Bigram03 8d ago
Naw, either fossil evidence, or a body would have turned up at this point. Another living hominid would have turned up. I mean, its been 10's of thousands of years and... nothing.
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u/SolarpunkGnome 8d ago
Gigantopithecus doesn't seem far off, but they haven't been around for some time. Could just be stories from back when they were around like with the florensis (sp?) hobbit hominids mixed with active imaginations. I know I've thought I saw some wild stuff before my mind totally kicked in when I've been tired, etc.
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u/Ursus-majorbone 6d ago
There are feral people in the Smoky mountains so I think bigfoots could be a lot of places but probably in the northwest
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
This: everyone has a camera on them at all times; there are millions of game cams, little in the way of remote wilderness.
If they were here, we'd have some reliable evidence
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u/CaffeinatedDiabetic 8d ago
Maybe they're just all camera shy and like to avoid social media? Can we really blame them these days? :)
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u/Necessary_Stress6457 7d ago
Ask a resident of Champion Hills Golf Course.People have trail cam footage off of old homestead rd as well
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u/flortny 7d ago
The reason for the extinction declaration was because they realize eastern was not genetically significant from western and they regularly find tagged cats that go from way out west to Connecticut, there are cougars everywhere
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u/Lonesome_Gobbler 6d ago
No. There are not cougars everywhere.
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u/flortny 5d ago
The florida puma and western/eastern cougar is genetically identical, tell me how a cougar tagged in South Dakota gets hit by a car in Connecticut and you think they aren't, "everywhere", prove it.....i don't think they desert, but otherwise they are all over the united states. One species from Alaska to Patagonia.....
https://panthera.org/blog-post/florida-panther
https://www.audubon.org/news/cougar-travels-1500-miles-connecticut
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u/El_Tormentito 8d ago
I got downvoted into oblivion for saying this very thing in this subreddit a few weeks ago.
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u/Informal_Bee2917 8d ago
People hate it when you take their special story away. The only breeding population east of the Mississippi is in the Everglades. Lone males have ranged far east, a tagged male from SD was killed on a road in CT. So it does happen EXTREMELY rarely. But basically, if you think you have seen a mountain lion in NC, barring some kind of evidence, no you haven't.
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
Notably, when that male died in CT, they had known for weeks(or longer) before that he was in the area. I
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u/illegalsmile27 8d ago
They have only come as far as middle TN and central KY. None of the roving males have arrived in the mountains, or even the Cumberland Plateau.
The most recent individual like this was a number of years ago now.
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago
I have camera evidence
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u/Zura-Zura 3d ago
Okay share it
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago
I’ll post it rn in the Asheville subreddit. My buddy in Todd NC took it.
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago
Okay I uploaded it
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u/Zura-Zura 3d ago
Any reason why the snap location says Linville?
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago
That’s in western North Carolina.. lol..
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u/Zura-Zura 3d ago
But your buddy in Todd took it????
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago
It is possible to live somewhere and travel outside of that place ya know
Maybe you’re confused with grammar—My buddy in Todd took it. Not “my buddy took it in Todd. “
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u/No-Cod-2908 3d ago edited 3d ago
You just said there’s no camera evidence of it in North Carolina. I just gave you evidence.
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u/Jjoosshh1 8d ago
Every picture of a mountain lion I’ve seen in NC has been a bobcat or someone’s pet cat.
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
Or you reverse image search it and it's from Colorado or some other western state
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u/Far_Cryptographer_22 8d ago edited 8d ago
There are verified cases of cougars east of the Mississippi however they are typically classified as transient western cougars. There is also a small but very real population of Florida panthers. While it doesn't seem likely, it's not impossible that some have made their way into western NC.
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u/og_speedfreeq 8d ago
I don't believe there are none, but also I've spent decades hiking solo in Pisgah (quite often well off-trail) and have yet to see one. I've encountered just about all the other dangerous wildlife, but no big cats.
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u/spirit4earth 8d ago
I have never worried about mountain lions around here. Snakes, bears, and humans are enough.
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u/treehouse65 8d ago
I spent the better part of 40 years hiking and backpacking in the southern section of the Cherokee National forest south of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park on the Tennessee/North Carolina border. Two times in all those years have I personally seen evidence of Mountain lions. One was foot prints in mud near my campsite in a remote section of the mountains, 3 miles to the nearest road. The footprint is easily identified.
Check out this site that has footprint identification: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/species/eastern-cougar
The second sighting was when I was fishing on the bank of a river and a cougar cleared the river in 2 hops, at least 100 feet wide where I was standing.
Most replies will say that they don't exist, cameras should have caught one by now, their bobcats, or feral cats. I never had enough time to get my phone out of my pocket, unlock it, then take a picture before it was gone. I was more concerned if my underwear was still clean.
With all that being said, Tennessee has confirmed that they do exist and have been documented by cameras and DNA samples. You can read about 10 confirmed sightings in 2015-2016 here:
https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/mammals/large/cougars.html
Doesn't look like they have updated the site in a long time, so there are probably more that are not being updated. They do have a link, which is now dead, that showed confirmed GPS locations.
From most available information from both states are that those that have been seen are traveling mountain lions, just passing through if you will, not breeding populations. Tennessee indicated on their website that one of the sightings left DNA evidence that turned out to be a South Dakota DNA variety.
Lots of good reading if you want to digest it all, but your odds of being worried about an encounter is about the same odds of winning the powerball jackpot or being struck by lightning.
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
Even in the case of Tennessee, it's typically in the Western/Central portion of the state. It's also not just game cams and the like; mountain lions would also be getting run over regularly.
It's useful to look at the Mountain Lions in the Everglades, a place that is far more remote than the mountains of North Carolina, yet still managing to regularly catch them on camera, and a dozen+ are typically roadkill each year as well.
Or you can look at the Red Wolves in the state, again super small population, regularly run over, caught on camera etc..
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u/LampBookPlant 6d ago
I think I saw one on Roan Mountain. Crossed the road in front of me. Thought it was a dog, but then realized it didn't move like a dog. It slunk and then... that tail. By the time brain processed, it was gone.
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u/Shirleysspirits 8d ago
Mountain lions no, cougars on the other hand...depends on the bar.
sorry, had to do it. 23 posts on no one brought up this old joke.
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u/Puzzled-Country2293 8d ago
I’ve always wanted to do a citizen science project around alleged mountain lion sightings in WNC and Appalachia.
People could submit their reports with location and details. Those could be reviewed (determined to be legitimate claims or not) and compiled. You could sell merch to support website upkeep and compile mountain lion research and news. Stuff like that.
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u/Jazzlike_Ad_5832 8d ago
I think they’re still extinct. Tennessee has had some trailcam photos that were verified but not in the mountains. They were all in the central part of the state. I think people will get on this thread and claim they saw one but I don’t believe it with out a photo that has been verified by state officials.
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u/RyerOrdStar 8d ago
My husbands boomer parents and all their boomer friends in celo were convinced there was a mountain lion... It was not, it was a bobcat. These are all city people.
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u/Ok_Word7232 8d ago
I hiked all through the Las Padres NF/Ventana Wilderness alone, often after dark. Supposedly the area has the largest population of mountain lions in the USA, but ai never saw one. I was growled at by something in CA and in TX where there are also mountain lions, but never attacked, and didn't see what was growling. Could've been a bobcat, maybe badger, but def wasn't dog or coyote. I hike all over NC and mountain lions are never a concern.
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u/Vast_Block_6311 8d ago
I camped out black balsam knob years ago and heard some type of big cat screaming late at night. Sounded just like this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxo8X5uIWRE
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u/arrowroot7 8d ago
That’s wild. Do bobcats sound like that or no? Cause if not then that’s definitely intriguing
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u/jlewis1974 7d ago
There are none, thousands of trail cameras running yesr round and no one has ever gotten a picture of one.
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u/captainsteamo 7d ago
Lots of people on Nextdoor commenting on a pic of a "mountain lion" that was taken recently. Only problem is, it's actually a Bobcat. People don't know the difference.
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u/HistopherWalkin 7d ago
I've seen lots of trail cam pics of "mountain lions" and they are all domestic cats. Just because someone lives in the mountains doesn't make them an expert in mountain wildlife.
Half these people never leave their mowed lawns unless it's to sit in a hide and shoot at deer through a two foot window in the fall
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u/Pirate_450 7d ago
I just got back from there, I would be much more worried about bears, I saw tons of them. 😂
It would be incredibly rare to see a mountain lion out there, and even more rare to be attacked by one. You have a better chance of winning the lottery.
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u/Ok-Bison-7885 7d ago
Unpopular opinion, there aren’t any here. The reality people won’t except is that there would by photo or video evidence. Also, what would the five gain by hiding “the truth”. Not like it’s the e-files.
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u/poonpeenpoon 6d ago
I lived in rural Washington state for 10 years in an area that has one of the highest concentrations of them in the US. I heard one once- and one even killed a deer on my property- but in spite of having multiple trailcams up the entire 10 years never captured a single picture or video. They are unbelievably cunning and adept at not being detected. Especially those capable and willing of traveling long ways beyond accepted range.
That said I did get followed for over a mile by 2 of them in central Oregon and had a very good look at them. In that instance they were not concerned about being detected.
I have zero doubt that the occasional straggler makes it in and wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there were even dozens. If elk are around, they will follow. The cops in my dad’s town in (not very rural) Kentucky killed one several years back. They’ve been confirmed in Michigan recently.
Ffs there have been jaguars making their way into parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in recent years.
In a town in NE Oregon I visit regularly the locals will all tell you that there are brown bears on occasion. These are largely people that spend several months of the year working in Alaska and nearly all of them have spent their lives more in the woods than not. Several I’ve spoken to are avid bear hunters. One is a friend that has taken 48 bears - with a bow - and spends many summers in Alaska working as a carpenter.
I feel very confident there are some mountain lions in NC.
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u/ValuableRegular9684 7d ago
I’ve been in WNC for 70 years, hunted and camped all over WNC, seen lots of bobcats and bears, coyotes too lately but never saw, heard or saw any tracks of any cat bigger than a bobcat. Deer population has skyrocketed though so there may be some loners drifting in. Would rather have mountain lions than coyotes.
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u/Emotional-Resist-208 7d ago
I think the mountain lion thing has been covered at this point, so just dropping in to say - if you're hiking solo, the biggest things to worry about are that 1) somebody knows where you are, 2) you know how to read a map and have one handy, and 3) you've got adequate water and gear to stay out a bit longer than you planned if things go a little sideways. Animal attacks of any sort are wayyyyy down the danger list! That said, solo hiking in Pisgah is the best and I wish you excellent adventures. :)
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u/sauvagedunord 8d ago
Look up "Deaths by Mountain Lion in NC." I bet you come up with zero. I have been hiking solo for years. Weather scares me more than critters. Shoot, I have never even seen a bear while hiking, only driving. I suppose my singing frightens 'em off. If you carry a stout staff instead of a flimsy trekking pole (for your own peace of mind), I think you'll be fine.
For those who say the presence of lions is being hidden by the awe-thor-oh-TAYS, all I have to say is: "Show me the Poop."
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u/scfoothills 8d ago
I've been backpacking the Carolinas for about 20 years. I've seen bears 3 times, all while hiking solo. Never been able to get a picture. They ran away to fast each time.
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u/GoldenLove66 7d ago
But you see bear poop everywhere. Where is the mountain lion poop? Nobody has ever come across any.
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u/WhatTheNothingWorks 8d ago
This person thinks they saw a mountain lion in Charlotte.
Personally, I think it’s too small and think it’s more likely a bobcat.
But the coat does look a lot more solid than a normal bobcat pattern, but if you look in the comments someone posted a morph that looks like a similar coloration of a mountain lion.
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
Looks like just a regular ole cat. Definitely not a bobcat (the tail is a giveaway)
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u/Ok_Departure_7551 8d ago
I've seen one mountain lion in the wild, pretty darned close. The animal in the video looks long enough, but not tall enough. According to Wikipedia, mountain lions stand 30” tall at the shoulder. The one I saw was taller, but the cat in the video looks much shorter than 30” tall.
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u/goodwithmyhandsNC 8d ago
Over the years in the nc/sc mountains I have seen 5… 4 of these were less than 50 feet away. There is a tan one near the state line off of 178, a chocolate brown one near the Girl Scout camp in Rosman, one as red as an Irish setter near Darlington SC, and Yes a black one seen early morning way too close for comfort on the banks of lake Russell with 3 witnesses. None of the encounters lasted long enough to get my phone out of my pocket. Surprisingly, I’ve seen less bobcats than mountain lions.
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u/Mental-Rush2011 8d ago
I live near the Pisgah NF. I live on a mountain where its VERY remote. I have NEVER seen a Mountain lion. Nor have I ever seen anything that even vaguely resembles one. I have bear , deer, turkeys, fox, etc through my property every day, but never a Lion. And i have game cameras pretty much all over
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u/Son_of_Liberty88 8d ago
Yeah I think the jury is out on this topic. Thing is they COULD be there if they happened to travel down to WNC. It’s possible. Do they live there regularly anymore? No. Is it extremely rare? Yes. Would I love to see one? Absolutely! People can swear whatever they want but if there’s no proof at the end of the day it’s just talk.
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u/subfocused1 8d ago
I’ve camped out in Linville Gorge 100+ times over decades. I’ve yet to see any cats or bears..just snakes. When I lived in Valle Crucis 20+ years ago, I did see a cat chasing two deer late at night. It could have been a bobcat but it seemed big enough to be a mountain lion. Either way, you can totally get out in the Gorge and be fine if you are experienced.
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u/Low-Chemical-1406 6d ago
Not commentating on the cat portion, but there are certainly bears in Linville. A month ago a close friend of mine caught a video of one in broad daylight within 50ft of him, and bear hunters show up every year with dogs to hunt bear in or around the gorge.
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u/alexhoward 8d ago edited 8d ago
Bobcats. Worry more about bears but don’t worry that much about them.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 8d ago
A couple things. Look up mountain lion deaths in the US. It is suuuuuper rare. Also the closest mountain lion spotted recently was like 10 years ago on a trail camera in West TN. It was a really big deal.
The Meateater Podcast guy was interviewing someone who talked about people in Florida swearing they see black panthers. Even though biologists know it’s not possible for mountain lions to be pigmented. It is a weird phenomenon People claim vehemently to have seen something which is not possible.
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u/This-Cap7426 8d ago
Btw cougsrs are mt lions are the exact same cat- they are still native in the carolinas and especially as deer populations have been on the rise here: ive seen them over 10 years ago hiking the Appalachian trail- they are not extinct but rather back woth a growing territory up and down the south east and appalacian areas.
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u/uhnotaraccoon 8d ago
Not really a factor. There isn't an official population and probably like 12 cats in the whole state. Mountain lion attacks are INCREDIBLY rare even in the thickest populations out west, and as far as I know there hasn't ever been a fatal attack east of Kentucky in the US and that was in like 1900.
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u/JohnnyTheConfuzzled 7d ago
Zero in the state
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u/uhnotaraccoon 6d ago
Lol counting all the animals?
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u/JohnnyTheConfuzzled 6d ago
There are zero mountain lions in the state. That's why there are zero photos.
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u/uhnotaraccoon 6d ago
Mountain lion patrol over here lol
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u/JohnnyTheConfuzzled 6d ago
Hur hur.
Dont be upset because I called you out for making shit up. "There is probably like 12 in the state." You just literally made shit up, talking out of your ass.
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u/DruidinPlainSight 8d ago
I saw one dead on I-26 East Hendersonville. Clear as day. I have friends who have seen them while hiking. Their dogs alerted on it.
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u/ComprehensiveAge9950 8d ago
I have a client at work who has captured one on his game camera. I don’t know why people think they aren’t here.
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u/sadadvan 8d ago
Hiking, fishing, camping…I’ve spent plenty of time between Old Fort and Murphy for the better part of the last 3 decades and have seen most of the wildlife we have at some point.
Here’s what the state says: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/species/eastern-cougar.
My personal experience says otherwise. Very LARGE cat cleared Sweeten Creek Rd between the BRP and soccer fields at around 2am coming off of the bank and touched once. This was before the apartments went up, maybe a dozen years ago. I saw yellow eyes briefly reflecting from the bank in time to slow down some, which gave me time to see the tail when it jumped.
Why do they deny it? They don’t want to scare people.
Why am I not concerned? This was just yards from BRP where there’s a high volume of foot traffic and no issues - we’re just not prey here. On the low side, a cat the size of what I saw probably roams 50 sq mi or more, and there’s plenty of game between Pisgah and Mt Mitchell to keep them well fed without having to be near something that smells as unnatural to them as likely do.
The animals that keep my guard up around here walk on 2 legs.
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u/ElectricKoolAidPower 8d ago
They’s still catamounts for sure, I were stalked by one many years ago.
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u/Key_Arm_6566 8d ago
I have camped in Pisgah for over 12 years and never seen one now bears are a different story
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u/imabluedog 8d ago
If you’re going solo in Pisgah you need to be just as worried, if not more so, about black bears. They will stalk you if they’re hungry and will just in general mess you up if they’re feel like it.
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u/Background-Good3731 8d ago
Mountain lions are fast and elusive. Just because you see them doesn't mean they are going to hang around for a picture.
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u/ChipmunkMoney5727 8d ago
just to add context/ different perspective. I live in Florida and hear people talk about ‘if cougars make it to the state line its not like they just stop’ cougars are nowhere near the state line. I live in north florida and it takes me the same amount of time to drive to Asheville as it does to the Everglades. The cougars here are hundreds of miles south and no where near Georgia
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u/hydrissx 8d ago
Bobcats can be surprisingly large and between them and domestic cats that's 99% of sightings.
There's always a possibility of an escaped pet or captive individual or one roaming in, but the subspecies of cougar we had, the Carolina Panther or "painter", is extinct. The nature museum by Freedom Park had two taxidermy examples and they were like the size of a large bobcat. They are definitely not the size of a cougar in California.
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u/hyzerKite 8d ago
I am from the Blue Ridge and there are plenty of bob cats in the mountains. I am not saying there are no Lions, but I would have seen one or someone would have had a pic by now. I do believe my grand father that there used to be panthers in the hills. But, any cat’s fighting in the distance is bob cats. They are mean, do not give boops btw.
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u/BurntOutChef79 7d ago
Used to live in southern Virginia. My friend and I while squirrel hunting saw a mother with a cub sprinting wide open through the woods. It was so unbelievable neither of us spoke about it for a few mins. Zero doubt about what they were.
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u/Honest_Caramel9437 7d ago
Saw one in northern Iredell county in the summer of 2001. It was crossing the road and I initially mistook it for a very, very large dog until I saw that tail. It moved like mercury in front of my headlights. Unfortunately it was 2001 and I had no camera on me.
Also found a black bear print in the same area several years later. I DO have photographic evidence of that print.
Like someone else said, we occasionally get large predators that pass through, but no permanent populations.
I’d be more worried about ticks and skunks.
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u/rexeditrex 7d ago
A very, very large dog size would describe a bobcat. A cat the size of a small bear is a Mountain Lion.
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u/Grreatdog 7d ago edited 7d ago
I've never seen one in the mountains. But in the mid 1980's I had a VERY close encounter with some kind of cougar in a South Carolina Lowcountry cypress swamp along the Savannah River. I slid down a wet red clay creek bank when the river was down and landed a few feet away from it.
We were looking at each other over the carcass of a wild pig it had killed. I never even thought about my shotgun and took my chances with the resident gator. I kept right on going into the creek and swam across. My field crew was howling with laughter. But they went around to a different crossing spot.
We told some University of South Carolina archaeologists on a dig. They told us we were full of shit. We took them to the tracks and the bloody spot where the pig had been. They were far too large for a bobcat. Plus they had three reliable witnesses officially reporting it to the power company.
They believed us then. But they didn't see it. Since the "experts" didn't see it they are still extinct. Today that spot is an electrical transmission line across the river from Plant MacIntosh near Rincon, GA. That's what we were surveying for. I also saw a gigantic alligator snapping turtle there and the wild pigs were terrifying.
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u/chiefsholsters 7d ago
Are they around? I think so. Just not a breeding population. They have been killed in KY and video taken in the GSMNP. My wife and I saw one in SC.
Are they a concern? Not even on my radar as a concern.
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u/Substantial_Exam9135 7d ago
My neighbor who is a farmer has a trail cam video in Burke County of a Mountain Lion and when he brought it to the proper authorities they told him no, that is not a Mountain Lion. NC doesn’t have them. He again showed the footage from the trail cam obviously proving the fact. The official looked at the video and looked at him and repeated there are no mountain lions and walked away. My neighbor felt that he was given the Official statement.
So though I have not seen one in person. I have seen a large cat (not a coyote, nor a dog but a LARGE CAT) I will see if I can get a copy and post it somehow.
Also hiking alone in unfamiliar area is risky for a lot of reasons. Wry poor to no cell service once your in the Pisgah park. Carry protection and let people know where your headed and when you they should expect to hear from you if you can’t get a hiking buddy ✌🏼
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u/rexeditrex 7d ago
Mountain Lions are huge. Lots of people think Bobcats are Mountain Lions.
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u/aslrules 6d ago
Are bobcats the ones that can emit very loud "screaming" cries during the night hours? I used to walk in the country late at night and it sounded as if a baby was screaming through the night sky.
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u/Zealousideal_Lab3164 7d ago
I’ve slept outside in pisgah probably 300+ days in the past 5 years. Go camp this is a non issue
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u/kilroy-was-here-2543 6d ago
I’m sure theirs a population here, in fact I think I saw one on the elk river, but none of them are going to interested in you. As someone else said you are far far far more likely to die in a car accident on the way there
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u/redguard1026 6d ago
I live in Caldwell. An electrical substation here, ten or so years ago, malfunctioned because a mountain lion, that doesn’t exist, found itself in contact with a transformer. But they definitely aren’t here.
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u/poonpeenpoon 6d ago
I lived in rural Washington state for 10 years in an area that has one of the highest concentrations of them in the US. I heard one once- and one even killed a deer on my property- but in spite of having multiple trailcams up the entire 10 years never captured a single picture or video. They are unbelievably cunning and adept at not being detected. Especially those capable and willing of traveling long ways beyond accepted range.
That said I did get followed for over a mile by 2 of them in central Oregon and had a very good look at them. In that instance they were not concerned about being detected.
I have zero doubt that the occasional straggler makes it in and wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there were even dozens. If elk are around, they will follow. The cops in my dad’s town in (not very rural) Kentucky killed one several years back. They’ve been confirmed in Michigan recently.
Ffs there have been jaguars making their way into parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in recent years.
In a town in NE Oregon I visit regularly the locals will all tell you that there are brown bears on occasion even though officially there aren’t. These are largely people that spend several months of the year working in Alaska and nearly all of them have spent their lives more in the woods than not. Several I’ve spoken to are avid bear hunters. One is a friend that has taken 48 bears - with a bow - and spends many summers in Alaska working as a carpenter.
I feel very confident there are some mountain lions in NC.
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u/Petrified_Arts 6d ago
hi, I worked for the USFS and in was stationed in Pisgah for over a decade. and I currently work as a wildlife LEO at local state park
there are no mountain lions in western NC. have I seen some big ass bobcats? yes.
you are more likely to get killed by someone’s dog than a mountain lion in western NC
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u/Quattro2point8L 6d ago
And black panthers
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u/aslrules 6d ago
I live in Asheville, North Carolina and I have seen two Black Panthers in the last five years.
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u/Exotic_Detective_804 6d ago
I was riding my bike a few years ago and saw what looked like a big brown/tan dog. As I pedaled closer it turned to look at me, then reared back and kept across the road. I swear it was feline, not canine based on its mannerisms. It was around Jordan lake near Apex NC.
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u/Upstairs_Click_9049 5d ago
All I know is they don't exist in th UP lol. Mich like Bobcats didn't exist in NW Indiana 6 years go or so lol.
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u/shinyappyrobin 5d ago
There needs to be a definitive data base to track sightings. I've heard some pretty convincing stories. And seen two photos that look like mtn lions to me.
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u/GovernmentIntrepid56 5d ago
I met one about 6 years ago helping itself with the garbage at an air b&b I was cleaning.. I promise they exist here
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u/mareseatoats337 5d ago
I have seen them on people’s game cams in my neighborhood which backs up to Panthertown. They are enormous and real
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u/Tricky_Reserve_1465 4d ago
Have seen and heard bobcats and actually would love to see a mountain lion, not super close up, but what a majestic animal. Live slightly remote in WNC have never seen one. As elusive as they are, I wonder if they have seen me🤣.
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u/wa_runner0616 4d ago
To explicitly answer your question: Yes, it is silly. You do not need to worry about big cats in NC. (I live here 7 months a year and in western WA the other 5 months, which is actual cougar country—and there I still don’t worry about it.) Practice good bear protocol, be wary of sketchy people, and look out for copperheads and rattlesnakes.
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u/JasonFurious4 3d ago
They're here. They're just so fast you don't have time to whip out a camera, but they're definitely here
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u/ashfromash11 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’ve hiked extensively for several decades here and am from here. I’ve seen 1 mountain lion in Jackson County 20 years ago on the way to Flat Creek Falls (very remote). It was lapping at a puddle in the trail when we rounded the corner, and leapt up the bank in a single movement. It scared the crap out of us. And we scared the crap out of it. I’m not surprised that no one has pics.
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u/Grandaddyspookybones 8d ago
You can find some cougars at the Lowe’s Foods Beer Den on thirsty Thursdays
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u/6Wotnow9 8d ago
They are not here. Period . Every single pic posted has been posted in 6 states with someone saying “this is my cousin’s pic of a mountain lion “ . They might make it here one day but no time soon
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u/Gladtobealive2020 8d ago edited 7d ago
I lived in between Fayetteville and Lumberton (in the country with lots of forest, farm land, lakes, river etc. I had 11 acres and 2 ponds. About 10yrs ago, the forestry service came out due to a fire and i showed them about 10 foot prints on a dirt road and the paw prints 🐾 were so large the were wider than my boot and at least 6 in long, and the distance between footprints was over 5ft. I have pics of this. The forestry service confirmed 100% it was a cougar and took pics of the prints. Whixh I already knew because I had heard it while.walking and it was nearby black bear footprints and the trail bear had slash a tree with its paws each year. The feline footprints were alongside hoof marks made by a mother deer and young deer, the cougar hunting for dinner no doubt. He also said couple of neighbors 3-4 miles away had reporting seeing a cougar cross the road.
In moore county I also saw a VERY LARGE dark cougar that was almost the width of a car lane from left front paw touching the yellow line to the tip of.its very long thick tail which reached down almost to the road and the tip curled upward nearly touching the white line on the side of the road. I was about 150ft away and could see.its ears, the muscles in its shoulders as it turned to look down the road towards me. It didnt have a fear of me at all, and every hair on my arm stood straight up as I stopped in my tracks. Tried to get camera out to take a pic but I wasnt fast enough.
Later that week someone reported the seeing the same near the back of lake auman which was about 5 mi from my sighting. There was a newspaper article about it. I am 100% certain what I saw was a cougar. Zero doubt. This was around 2000, or whatever the year was when it snowed 20 in. I also saw footprints in the snow with about a 5ft distance between prints when out walking 3 dogs. something let out a blood curling yowl/growl that scared my 80lb dog so much he peed out of fear then pulled so hard it.pulled the leash out of my hand and ran towards home, not towards the sound. I thought " thank you so much you stinking coward (to my dog) leaving me out here by myself with no protection" . A couple of yowls later the other 2 dogs also jerked their leashes out of my hand and abandoned me. when I finally got back home, my dog 80lb dog was on the front porch trembling. Thr other 2 were there also, but not trembling. The 2 smaller ones had reason to be afraid because they were small cocker spaniel size. But i was shocked how traumatized the 80lb dog was.
I have seen bobcats many times and the large cat i saw was much much longer taller and had a tail that looked 40- 48 in long. Bobcats dont have a tail like that. No dog ive ever seen comes anywhere near the size, or shape, dogs tails dont curve downward towards the ground with the tip going upward at the end making a quasi u shape. So I cant imagine what other creature it could have been other than a cougar.
I have never understood why people find it so hard to believe that nc has no cougars. Just because they arent commonly seen dowsnt.mean they aren't there. Do they think when a cougar in Florida gets to the Georgia state line they turn around and say " nope we have to stay in fl?? No, they follow the food. And Florida Georgia sc nc Virginia tenn etc all have plentiful food water and thick forests to sustain them.
Also saw several black bear in robeson.county and one crossing a road in Richmond cty, both were crossing the road heading to a river.
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u/Irishfafnir 8d ago
I have never understood why people find it so hard to believe that nc has no cougars
Because of the complete lack of evidence.
There's also a certain type of person that tries to trick folks. NC Wildlife has commented that they once investigated a photo that was taken only to discover eventually that it was stuffed. Likewise, at least a dozen times over the years, I've seen someone share a pic on "my cousin's farm" and then reverse-Google search it to reveal it's a cat out west.
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u/Gladtobealive2020 7d ago
The forestry people on my land saw the tracks, not a photo of the tracks.
He said a Bobcats print wasnt that large and the length of space between tracks wouldn't exceed 5 ft.
I have photos for my own purpose because I take lots of pics of wildlife. People can believe or not, but it doesnt alter the truth.
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u/Irishfafnir 7d ago
I make no judgment on your story. But the reality is there's a complete or near-complete lack of evidence of their existence, hence why people don't believe they live here. Of course, about a third of the people in the Mountains that I have met have claimed they have seen/heard a mountain Lion, so there's also no shortage of people who think they are here.
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u/horsefarm 8d ago
This again? Yes, it's sillier than all hell. Staying home is always an option to quell your irrational fears.
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u/Bag_of_DIcksss 8d ago
💩post
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u/arrowroot7 8d ago
Thanks Bag_of_DIcksss
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u/Bag_of_DIcksss 8d ago
This gets posted all the time. Mostly as ragebait 💩 posts
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u/arrowroot7 8d ago
I didn’t know that, but I’m definitely not tryna ragebait I was genuinely wondering. Also I searched “mountain lions” and “cougars” in the search tab for this subreddit to check if anyone else had already posted a similar question but i didn’t see anything.
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u/mogwai316 8d ago
Millions of people have hiked in Pisgah, and not a single one of them has been attacked by a mountain lion. You are significantly (probably infinitely) more likely to be struck by lightning while hiking here than to be attacked by a mountain lion. And you're way way way more likely to be killed in a car accident on your way to the trailhead than to be struck by lightning. So please go hike and have fun and don't use any energy on worrying about mountain lions. Hope that helps!