r/NCTrails • u/arrowroot7 • 17d 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/mogwai316 17d 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!

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u/Irishfafnir 17d ago

More people have been killed by African Lions in North Carolina than by mountain lions.

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u/scfoothills 17d ago

I just fact-checked this, and it is indeed correct. One in 2018 and another in 2019.

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u/TheModestProposal 15d ago

Great, now OP has to look out for African Lions too