I can't be certain what I saw...

[devoidapop]

I was driving from Wallace, NC to Jacksonville today on a swampy back road. All of a sudden a dark brown animal about the size of a large dog darted across the road. It had a long, thick tail, a sleek body, and it ran like a cat. I know the Eastern Cougar is supposedly long gone from this part of the state but I can't think of what else I could have seen.

[Uncle Joe]

It's still possible. Cougars have been sited in the Appalachians.

[rocketsocks]

Did it have small feet?

[rockyiss]

Maybe a fisher

[sfdoc]

Bobcats are also up and down the trail, and some are quite large. Possible?

[Maineiac64]

Its a long way, where did you see it?

[devoidapop]

I was on Fowler Manning Rd, just south of Richlands, NC. The closest recent sightings have been near Washington, NC. When I called wildlife services they didn't sound surprised but said they don't investigate unless you can get a picture. I guess it could habe been a Fisher. would have been a big one, though.

[gpburdelljr]

Maybe a fisher

Are there fishers in NC?

[Teacher & Snacktime]

I saw tracks of one in Maryland in January. There is no doubt at all as to what it was. Not surprising to hear of an appearance in NC. IMG_1850 (2).jpg

[devoidapop]

https://emammal.si.edu/north-carolinas-candid-critters/blog/black-panthers-cats-mistaken-identity

This is why I am hesitant to say I definitely saw a cougar.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

https://emammal.si.edu/north-carolinas-candid-critters/blog/black-panthers-cats-mistaken-identity
This is why I am hesitant to say I definitely saw a cougar.

I'd read that article before, when we had the print sighting. I hadn't taken the quiz before though! I got them all right, but the clue to me is the size of the paw. Bobcats, even large ones, have tiny feet

[martinb]

Otter, possible?

[Feral Bill]

A cougar is pretty unmistakable, as it is very catlike and large. Bigger than all but the very largest dogs.. The tail you describes fits, though. I doubt anyone who is at all familiar with either could mix up and otter and a cougar. So, could be a lone cougar. Organizations who would be beyond delighted to find a breeding population have concluded there is not one.

[Feral Bill]

I'd read that article before, when we had the print sighting. I hadn't taken the quiz before though! I got them all right, but the clue to me is the size of the paw. Bobcats, even large ones, have tiny feet

Looking at your track picture, I am forced to conclude that you have tiny feet.

[devoidapop]

I am not at all familiar with otters or cougars, other than seeing them at the zoo. I would certainly never mistake one for the other in that setting. In this case I was driving about 45mph, I only saw the animal in the time it took to run 20 yards from one corn field to another, and I was completely unprepared for anything other a deer to come out of that field. Under those circumstances could I have mistaken a 3 ft animal for 5-6 ft animal? Maybe. Do otters spend a lot of time running around corn fields? I have no idea.

I know it wasn't a bear or a dog because of the way it was running and I know it want a bobcat because of the tail.

I'll be back out that way most Fridays this summer. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a second look.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Looking at your track picture, I am forced to conclude that you have tiny feet.

Not my foot! It's Speedbump's which, while much smaller than my own, still measures about 4" across, and about the same width as that print. A Bobcat will max at about 2.5"

I'll be back out that way most Fridays this summer. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a second look.

A second or closer look? Thank you, NO.

[devoidapop]

I'll be back out that way most Fridays this summer. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a second look.

A second or closer look? Thank you, NO.[/QUOTE]

Lol. I'm not gonna be trekking through a swamp looking for a big cat encounter. I just mean I'll be driving that road for work about the same time of the morning. If I get lucky and see the animal, it will be from the safety of an International 4400.

[rocketsocks]

Puppy monkey baby!

[Snowleopard]

It is possible it was a cougar, but unlikely. This is not judging your ability to identify a cougar, it is just that they are very rare in the east except southern Florida.

In the northeast, there are two verified cases of a wild cougar (possibly the same individual). It was seen in the Adirondacks and DNA was collected. The same individual cat was killed by a car in Milford, CT. http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg...achusetts.html This animal was photographed in Greenwich, CT (not exactly wilderness) and may have been seen in Mass earlier.

The "Connecticut Mountain Lion"

Photo courtesy Connecticut Bureau of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division


By far, the best documented wild Mountain Lion in New England was a young adult male (140 pounds) struck and killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway (Route 15) in Milford, Connecticut on June 11, 2011. The animal had been photographed on the campus of the Brunswick School, in Greenwich, Connecticut about 40 miles away on June 5th. An analysis of this cat’s DNA by USDA’s Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory in Missoula, Montana revealed that it had originated in South Dakota. Amazingly, this same animal was documented by DNA samples from one site in Minnesota and three locations in Wisconsin from December 11, 2009 through early 2010. At least six sightings of what is believed to be this same animal were recorded from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Later it was documented in Lake George, New York on December 16, 2010. Over a period of a year and a half, this Mountain Lion left DNA evidence (in the form of hair or scat) in at least four states, as well as identifiable tracks, trail camera photos, other photos, and finally, a body.
While mountain lions don’t usually disperse more than 100 miles from where they are born, this young male traveled about 1,800 miles. This is the longest documented dispersal distance of a Mountain Lion. The previous record was set by another young Mountain Lion from South Dakota that was killed in Chicago in 2008 after travelling over 1,000 miles.

The other northeastern mountain lions with positive DNA identification were genetically related to South American cougars, so likely escaped or released pets. On the other hand, NC is close enough to the south Florida population that one may have wandered to NC.

[zelph]

Maybe a fox or coyote diseased with "mange"

mange.JPG