by Ryan Rachman
(North Carolina)
I live in the state of North Carolina approximately 430 meters from the Peedee river. I own 68 acres of land right next to wildlife.
I have been seeing a rather large cat species in my yard almost every night for the past 3 weeks. It looks like a lion has a tail around 3 to 4 foot long it is a sandy blondish red color and has darker colors around the mouth and ear areas.
I’ve been as close as 10 feet away from this cat eye to eye and to my surprise was not threatened by any means. The cat probably weighs about 200 pounds and is getting rather comfortable on my property what should I do??
I do not want to kill it but I’m a father of two kids and would die if something happened to my children.
Ryan – ryan_dada@yahoo.com
Update: Please see the extensive list of comments on this page as there are many from other citizens of N. Carolina who have seen a cougar and/or evidence of one. Judging by the large number of sightings recorded in the comments it seems to me that the puma is not extinct in the East. Below I allude to the possibility that the Ryan’s sighting was of a domesticated puma but that assessment may well be wrong 😊.
Hi Ryan.. thanks for visiting. The first thing to note is that I live in London, England. My answer is based on common sense principles and knowledge acquired.
North Carolina is eastern USA – obviously. The cougar (Puma) has been officially declared extinct in the wild in eastern USA by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Please read Eastern Cougar Extinct March 2011.
You are suggesting that a cougar is coming onto your land.
On the basis that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are correct (and there is debate about that) then the cat that you are seeing, which sounds as if it is a cougar, is either a domesticated one that has escaped or one of the last wild cougars in eastern USA. People domestic cougars in the USA.
If it is the latter is is very rare. If it is the former the cat belongs to someone. The cat sounds as if it is domesticated to me being unperturbed by your presence.
In either case it should not be shot and I am very pleased to read that you agree this.
I also agree that your children’s safety is paramount. Children should be supervised in the presence of a cougar – common sense I guess. Cougars can be chased off by adults – Mountain Lion Attack. Your children shouldn’t go out unsupervised until the matter is dealt with.
My best advise is to contact the authorities (not the police) and ask for help. The only trouble with that is I have read that “the authorities” tend to like to shoot large cats. Well, that is the impression I get. So strict instructions should be given to say that no one is treated or endangered and that you are concerned for the cat as much as yourself and family.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission promotes conservation “and provides assistance for landowners wishing to manage wildlife on their lands..” They might be a good starting point. But keep your mind open. Some people have closed dogmatic minds and tend to respond in a formulaic manner (shoot and ask later). Their contact details are: 1-800-662-7137 (this is for “wildlife violations” which is not really appropriate but the best number that I can find).
You no doubt have a better idea as to who to contact but never the police please! They often do more harm than good.
The cat should be caught and “re-homed” somewhere safe. It is the cat that is more in danger than the people in actual fact.
If the children go out you should accompany them and if the cougar (presuming the cat is a cougar) appears follow the instructions that I have listed on the Mountain Lion Attack page.
If anyone has a better idea please leave a comment asap – thank you.
Regular cougar sighting in North Carolina to Wild Cat Species
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We live her in Haywood County NC! Caught this on trailcam last weekend! I believe it is our mountain lion! It is too big for the spotted bobcat that we have multiple pictures of! This cat is larger than our full grown size golden retriever! It’s face and ears are different than a bobcats too! This trail camera is positioned on a shaded side of a tree and pointed toward a shady area to avoid glare from the sun!
I would love some feedback on this pic!
Hi Vicky, thanks for posting. The picture is from a trailcam – a camera trap camera – but the quality is very poor which makes it hard to read and assess.
I guess that you realise that the colour of this cat – grey – is very odd for a wild cat. I know of no wild cat with this smooth mid-grey coat. And I know the wild cats well.
And there appear to be no markings. You say the cat is larger than a golden retriever. Are you sure?
The leaves help us measure the size of this cat. They provide a reference. On that basis and on the colour, this is not a puma.
I just can’t see it being a mountain lion.
Far more likely to be a domestic cat. Sorry. If you can provide some more info it might help.
Why do you say it is bigger than your dog?
We live her in Haywood County NC! Caught this on trailcam last weekend! I believe it is our mountain lion! It is too big for the spotted bobcat that we have multiple pictures of! This cat is larger than our full grown size golden retriever! It’s face and ears are different than a bobcats too! This trail camera is positioned on a shaded side of a tree and pointed toward a shady area to avoid glare from the sun!
We live in western Haywood County here in NC! We have had several sightings down through the years and have had our livestock killed as well! We haven’t really had livestock now in many years but we still have sightings of all sorts of wildlife! Just within the last week we have caught pics of a family of black bears, a couple of bucks, coyotes, possibly one red wolf and a rather large cat! It’s bigger than our full grown retriever dog! My neighbor says it is a bobcat however a bobcat doesn’t get that big and doesn’t have a tail like that. The face and ears are different as well! This was taken in the early evening and the camera shoots toward a shadowed area to a avoid the glare from the setting sun! The color appears grayish but the facial features are clear!
My husband & I were visiting our son and his family in Holly Springs, NC in December of 2021. Behind their apartment complex there is a large wooded area with a stream and decent size pond. I was out walking around dusk and was approximately 20 yards from the bridge, when a cougar leaped up from the embankment of the pond, crossed in front of the bridge and ran into the forest on the opposite side. The cat was tawny in color, had a smaller head, very muscular haunch, and a long, thick tail with the tip being blackish in color which curved up. The animal was clearly a mature adult. As it crossed the bridge it’s body and tail covered virtually the entire width of the bridge (which was made for a vehicle & close to 8′ wide). It moved without making a sound and fortunately did not look at me. I would guess it weighted somewhere between 125-150 lbs.
I reported the sighting to the US Dept Fish & Wildlife and was told no cougars live in North Carolina, etc., etc…
I used to live in the Sierra Neveda Mountains and we had mountain lions in the area, so I know exactly what they look like and am positive that is what I saw. It is very frustrating not to be believed.
Thanks, Pam, for sharing your experience. As you can see from the large number of comments here, you are not alone. There are pumas in North Carolina. Officially they are not.
I live in Eastern Nc mountains and I have one hanging around my house, doing the screaming mating call. I have heard this call twice now on either side of my house. I have two small pets that ran back into the house when this animal screamed. A few years back authorities did release some cougars on the western side of brushy face mountain according to a retired FBI neighbor! I am extremely afraid!
Extension of my comment! My property backs up to the Nantahala national Forest! And I can closely see the back side of brushy face mountain from my front window! Our community is extremely in the woods so to speak!
Please don’t be afraid. Try and enjoy it. You are lucky I think to be in a place where this wonderful cat exists. Mountain lions are quite retiring and it is possible to scare them away. I would advise you to look it up on the Internet. Don’t call the authorities or the police or anybody else because they tend to want to shoot pumas that end up in urban or suburban areas. Thank you for commenting by the way. It is appreciated.
My sister and I were driving East on 903 in Lenoir County NC this evening, very close to the intersection of 903 and 55. A large animal, cat-like brown, long curving tail and moving gracefully and very quickly, ran across the road in front of us and into the woods to our right, South.
We were shocked and were going through all the animals it could be. The only one we could conclude was a cougar. It was much too large and entirely the wrong shape for a bobcat. It didn’t move like a dog or coyote, plus it was the wrong shape. It definitely was not a bear. There are deer, cattle and horses in the area as well as all the other wild animals that could be a food source. Wish I could have gotten a picture but it happened too fast.
Good sighting Mary. Thank you. It adds nicely to the list of sightings.
They’re definitely here
Thanks. I am convinced that you are correct.