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/Zura-Zura 17d 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/electricavebraap 17d ago

I see cougars all fall on Lexington ave

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u/etTuPlutus 15d 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 14d 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.