How cool! I'm sure that bobcats are finding ways to adapt to human encroachment, and are becoming more comfortable in urban settings. Sometimes, it's hard to believe what we've seen with our own eyes, isn't it?

Call a local Fish and Wildlife office...keep trying until you find someone who acts interested. They should have plenty of good information about the whereabouts of bobcats in the area.

Some years ago, while living in coastal SC, I was the only one of four people on a boat to see what I was positive was a seal of somekind. (Unheard of in our location.) The darned thing surfaced about four feet away from the boat, looked right into my eyes...blinked coyly...and then disappeared again. Naturally, the others thought I was absolutely nuts (and cut me off from the beverage supply)! First thing on Monday morning, I called the Wildlife folks and was given complete verification of the Harbor Seal that I had seen. Apparently they weren't all that unheard of to them. They had names for some of them.

Hi,
I'm not surprised your friend saw a bobcat. I live in the Shelby County portion of Hoover in a subdivision thats been here over 20 years and we've had red foxes, racoons, rabbits, and such. No bobcats yet, though. One thing that still surprises me are the number of roadkill deers on I459 and on Valleydale Road.

I'm not near a city and just outside a small town in a subdivision which is bordered on the back by woods & creeks. Last year, as you all recall, we had a very, very hot,dry summer. My next door neighbor called to tell me to watch my pets (we have small dogs). They were sitting outside in the middle of the afternoon and a bobcat ignored them and jumped into their pond and took a duck. I guess they get bolder when the food supply is low or maybe they just go for the easy pickings. We have been told over & over by locals that there are no bobcats in this area but when we are driving we have seen one ever now and then crossing the road.

I've worked on Oak Mtn for almost 25 years. The company property borders the Hwy 280 end of Oak Mtn Park. We've had bobcats, turkeys, coons, geese, deer, coyotes, foxes, you name it. Over the years the ssitings of these animals has decreased as housing encroaches around us. I came out of the building backdoor one night and a bobcat jumped out of the dumpster, screamed and scared the heck out of me.

I went walking in the woods in Pleasant Grove last week and found tracks from bobcats and coyotes. I saw a coyote sunday on Tin Mill Road between Wylam and Dolomite...

Jackie

We do not have any bobcats, but if you would like to see tigers, lions, cougars, wolves, leopards, and lots more check out Tigers for Tomorrow in Attalla, AL. It is a last stop rescue and sanctuary and is open to the public. BEAUTIFUL.

I volunteer there and it is fantastic!
Amy

Here is a link that might be useful: Tigers for Tomorrow

About 15 years ago when my wife and I first arrived in Birmingham we went for a hike in Tanehill State Park right outside of Birmingham. I spotted the fresh paw print in a creek bed of what seemed to be a large cat. I'm 100% sure it must have been a bobcat. So, they've been around but I've never seen one, unfortunately. We do have red foxes, coyotes, racoons, and possums in Redmont Park, smack in the middle of Birmingham.

I live in Smoke Rise in Western Blount County, and there apparently was a MOUNTAIN LION in our area last Summer. The tracks were found and several people heard the screams. It also killed a den of fox pups and also one or more goats. It was front page news in the Blount County newspaper. LOL! Apparently there are no self-sustaining populations of mountain lions in Alabama (according to the Wildlife folks), but there have been other reports over the years. Maybe escaped exotic pets???

I imagine that the Mountain Lion reported could indeed be a cougar; just because a sighting has not been substantiated in years does not mean they are not out there. Please see the link.

On the other hand, there is not a whole lot of regulation in Alabama regarding wild/exotic pets, so it could be an escape. Anyone remember the reports of a tiger sighted in Cullman Co.? And then, nothing. No report of it being caught.

The rescue I work with ends up with tigers, lions, etc in part because people think they want a big cat as a pet, not realizing the danger and the responsibilities involved. Another reason we wind up with them is because they are bred for "canned hunts," where someone pays to "hunt" the animal, usually in an enclosed pen. Then they can have their trophy kill and brag. That is NOT hunting!!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Alabama Cougars

dear queenamy,i will bet the the tiger in cullman co. was someone's pet.remember ,it had a red collar around its neck? they probably scooped it back up and took it home.do you remember the man a few years back who had all his poisonous snakes confiscated and one got loose? they never mentioned that snake again either. i myself saw a bobcat and her litter a few years back coming out of a fire lane in leeds near the highway.cool!

The reason we are seeing more wildlife is because of all these subdivisions and shopping centers being built....We are encroaching on and destroying THEIR territory and they have nowhere else to go! Transient wildlife is what they are!

I grew up in the Chelsea area of Shelby county. In the last couple of years 2 large game reserves have been sold to companies who are raping the land like no tomorrow. Those game reserves no longer exist. In their stead are cheaply built $300,000 houses and more stores for people to shop at. (Like there aren't enough places to choose from!)

Those animals were always there...Bobcats. They just had plenty of places to hide before...now they don't.

Sometime last year my nieghbor in Trussville saw a large cat run across his front lawn. He indicated it had a long tail.I suspect was probably someones exotic escape.

I live in Wilsonville, and yes, we have bobcats. I have seen them a couple of times since I moved to Wilsonville three years ago. And at last count, I had 14 deer in the front yard. Need to take up crossbow for them flower and tree eating critters.
We also have foxes and such. The one thing that I have noticed is that I haven't seen any coyotes. I don't know if the bobcats subdue them or what? In Brierfield where I moved from, we had coyotes all over the place and no bobcats.
Bobcats are prettier.

I have seen plenty of bobcats, coyotes, raccoons in urban or surrounding areas particularly as residential growth branches out into their habitat and they are forced to make adjustments. I did see a cougar (mountain lion) back in the 1970s in Macon County although Dept. of Conservation folks say I am mistaken. I was sitting upon a bluff when I saw something approaching through the woods. At first I thought it was a bobcat, but as it got closer I realized it was much bigger and I thought then that perhaps it was someone's golden laboradour because I make out its tail. When it stopped within 10 feet of me but slightly concealed behind something like a huckleberry bush I could tell it was a cougar (yellow and not black like the Florida cougar). It startled me so much I almost jumped off the bluff, but it ran in the opposite direction about the time I moved. Honest to goodness.

Why are the Wildlife people so insistent that there are no mountain lions/cougars in this part of the country? It's like some kind of government disinformation campaign. Nope, no cougars here. Nope. Nothing to see. Move along. The Martians have NOT landed.

bamadave.....my dad has seen a large 'cougar' type cat twice on his farm. Once from close range. (He lives down a dirt road) He swears it is a cougar. Tracks have also been found numerous times.

He is not the only one....A couple of people who live down the road have seen this cat as well. These are reputable people who are VERY accustomed to seeing wild life. There is no way they would confuse this with a bobcat or anything else. So, yeah, I believe there is definately some kind of BIG cat roaming around these parts.

OK, I'm admitting I am getting old. I read the subject and thought "what other types of bobcats are there?" and then I thought of singer/band leader Bob Crosby and the Bobcats band. For those too young, Bob was the brother of Bing Crosby. For a number of years in the 1950s, Bob had a TV show with recipes, entertainers, etc. He had a singing group call the Modernaires as featured and backup singers. Gosh, I'm old!

gee Terry, I've learned something tonite. I'm no spring chicken (soon to be 54), but I sure didn't know that Bing had a brother, Bob. And he had a tv show with.....recipes? Wow, that must have garnered American Idol type ratings!! lol

ok seriously now, when I started this thread I added the four legged kind just in case someone might skip reading thinking it was just some boring post asking where is the best place to buy or rent a "skid-steer" bobcat in the Birmingham area. Guess I should have specified "the furry kind" instead of number of legs, maybe?

I live in North Shelby County and during our build (undeveloped area) we saw numerous tracks. I looked up the various kinds of prints online. I was sure we'd seen cougar tracks and sure enough, two other people in my area saw the cougars. Neither knew they other had seen a cougar when they told a mutual friend.

My brickmason has lived on Hwy 41 (between Mt Laurel and 280) for almost 40 yrs. He said there used to be a bear nearby.

One day, a raccoon with distemper came in my yard during the daytime hours. Could not get it to leave. It was sickly looking and my dogs were out in their pen. I called DD2 to come help me get the dogs inside. She heard me say I was going to shoot it and called the sheriff...then I was afraid to shoot it. When the sheriff arrived, she said she's lived on Hwy 43 all of her life and we do indeed have cougars in the area. She confirmed the bear sightings too but said it had been awhile since anyone had seen one.

tsmith2579, my sister has worked for EBSCO since 1976. I'm guessing that's where you work too. Her section just moved to Mt Laurel.

There is no doubt about it...large cats live in Alabama. My grandfather reported seeing a large black cat on his farm in Barbour county years ago. Now, I live in Shelby county, About two months ago, I was taking my small dog outside when I noticed a black creature sitting there eying my dog. I thought maybe it was a black lab. I didn't want trouble so I took my dog in and walked back over there. It was still sitting there, but it began walking off very slowly as I approached. I was able to get within 20 yards (close enough to make out its cat-like features) It freaked me out. This morning, I was asleep when my girlfriend came in all freaked out and told me she saw the same thing, in the same general area. She says she saw a very lean, black catlike creature on a slow but steady stride back into the woods behind our place. It may have been a jaguarundi or a black panther. My justification for those of you who may think that we are crazy is this: If they lived around here at one time, who is to say that there aren't still a few around (especially with the deer population having risen significantly). Also those those cats can travel hundreds of miles. It just wouldn't make sense to rule out the existence of the creature in alabama. THEY ARE HERE! (So are black bears)

Bibb County here. About a month ago, in the evening, my neighbors were clearing down their side of the hill down to the valley floor. The hill slopes sharply back up towards my house. My husband came and told me to look at the big black cat in the crotch of the tree on the other side of the valley. It was huge, and was on my side of the very large tree, so it could not be seen from their side. I don't have a camera yet, so no pics, of course. We saw it several more times, in the same tree, but as the hillside was cleared, it disappeared. We are only a few miles from the Cahaba River Park, so I figure it may have moved back that way.

When I was a kid we lived in the woods near Vance in Tuscaloosa Co. We were on a dead end dirt road across from a lake- very wooded area with just a few neighbors. One night we came home late and as we were getting out of the car we heard what sounded somewhat like a woman screaming. I can remember every hair on my body standing on end at that sound. My dad shuffled us all in the house and started calling the neighbors. None of them were screaming, but a few had heard the noise. They all speculated it must have been some kind of big cat in the area since they had seen tracks in the area.

My uncle had a stuffed bobcat that he had shot and had mounted at his house. That thing always scared the crap out of me as a kid. He had it mounted with one paw out swiping the air and it's teeth bared. I hated going to his house because I was scared of sitting in his living room next to that thing. Gives me the willies to think about it. :o) Of course he also thought it was fun to wring a chickens neck and let it run around the yard headless just to freak us kids out, too.

Oy.

In '72 and '73 I lived in a suburb of Pinson. On more than one morning a bobcat came to our wellhouse. It would just stand and kook at us! We lived at the foot of a mountain, I guess it was seeking water.
Doe

I've seen a wild Bobcat a couple of times before. Also several years ago a local man in the area reported seeing a "black cougar" clawing a tree. Scientists and foresters always have said there is no "black cougar" here in the U.S., most people mistaken a large house cat at a distance for one (But there are hundreds if not thousands of reports of "black cougars" in the U.S.) "Black cougar" sightings are still a mystery in the wild, it's part of cryptozoology such as the Loch Ness Monster.

There is definitely true rare sightings of lone Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) in the eastern U.S. (also known as by some: cougar, puma, or panther) Although their past range was also in the eastern U.S. (before 1900), there native range now days is in the Western U.S. after being pushed out by people, except for the occasional rare sightings in the eastern U.S.
Some mainstream scientists believe that small relict populations may exist (around 50 individuals), especially in the Appalachian Mountains and eastern Canada.
A near neighbor saw a large Mountain Lion near him couple of years ago in the wild forest (he would definitely know the difference between a bobcat that has spots/stripes and is small compared to a large Mountain lion. In our woods I took a picture what I believe was a Mountain lion track last year in some sand by a spring. I measured the track with a ruler and the track was 4 inches wide. I also saw a curved claw mark by the track in the sand (likely from the down step it had to take to cross the stream).

The Mountain Lion in North America is Critically Endangered. But in most of the other ranges like South America etc. they are not.

I live at the foot of Chandler Mtn. in St. Clair County. My husband has been hearing something yelling out(like a woman screaming)in the middle of the night at the same time 4 nights in a row. It hollars and then a few minutes later hollars again. The horses go to running, neighbor's dogs go to barking, (my dogs come running and hide on the porch), chickens go to cackling and my husband checks on our goats and they are all laying in a big huddle (which is not like them).
My husband and I were driving through the cove rd. about 6 yrs ago at night (which goes along the ft of the mtn) and the headlights caught the long tail of something big cross the road in front of us and go up into the underbrush. (gives me chills thinking about it)My father-in-law has heard it screaming out for several years off and on. Another neighbor has gotten word back to us that they have also heard it scream out in the middle of the night a month or so ago.
We decided to get online to see if we could find out anything about this creature or any record of one close to our location into which I found this site. Could this be a Mtn lion in the area?

Maybe a red fox?

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Fox scream

I've seen them twice where I live (McCalla)

My friend is telling me it's hardly possible, but I am sure I saw a cougar last night (Nov. 20, '08) near my home in Adamsville. We are pretty close to the woods, so I know this isn't "subdivision," but it's still rare.
I'll be the first to admit that it was dark and I was in my truck, but this cat was way too big to be a bobcat, and had a long, low tail.

Am I seeing things? Can/should I report the sighting? To whom?

Thanks ...

I want to thank queenamy for confirming that I am NOT crazy. a few years ago I was on a hike in St. Clair Co. at the old Camp Seton site and saw definite evidence of a cat that was MUCH larger than a bobcat. When I called wildlife officials I was told that there were no wild cats in AL larger than a Bobcat and they refused to send someone to investigate. The website you linked to said there was no confirmation by wildlife officials in decades, well no, you are not going to have confirmation if they refuse to investigate. Anyway, some time later this same, or another large cat was chasing a deer right into my back yard (I only live a couple miles from where we saw evidence earlier). I had personal confirmation. I also saw and heard evidence of a panther in Clay Co. near Goldville back in the 80's. I wonder, if there is no sustaining population in AL (from the website), how did they get there? They can't all be released "pets".

my buddy and i were driving on hwy 21 in northern coosa county and saw a cougar cross the road in front of us. (it was between hanover and stewartville) it was midday and the large cat was as tall as the guard rail. it ducked underneath the guardrail and disappered into the woods. i had a camera, but the cat was long gone by the time we stopped the truck. what an experience!

About 2 years ago, on our way to Lake Mitchell one evening (Chilton County, AL) , there was NO mistaking what we saw in our headlights!! We were turning on to Cty. Rd. 264 when the most beautiful black panther/cougar crossed the road in front of us. It covered over half the road and must have been 7-8 feet from nose to the end of it's stretched out tail. I didn't think to call any wildlife official as it isn't unusual for us to see all kinds of wild animals down there, including bobcats. In fact, where we live in So. Jefferson Cty., it used to be no surprise to see bobcats (sitting in trees outside a window and sounding like a baby crying), armadillos, etc. This, however, was in the 1960's. I haven't seen any more bobcats here, thanks to all the commercial building that has gone on over the years, but the armadillos, foxes, coyotes, etc. are still around. With so many sightings, I think these so-called "officials" might want to take another look.

With today's inexpensive motion-sensor cameras you would think our state conservation officials would drag a road kill deer into a tree as bait and set up to take pictures. It would sure beat how other state money is spent.

i live in forest parks in chelsea.we have had 19 siteings in our subdivision one day i was riding my yamaha ttr 125 and my friend was behind me saw one. my neihbors have seen bobcats three times each around my house what DO I DO?:(

i found a baby bobcat and i dont no what to do with it i live in birmingham al,

Where the heck do humans expect wildlife to live? In the "wild"? Well, there is very little "wild" left.

We're building 3- or 4-story "monuments" on mountaintops in which to live, building subdivisions around every inch of available water, and there is very little room left for anything that walks on four legs, except the deathbed we know as paved roads.

That is why I hesitate to believe in a "god". Why would a "supreme being" create something as destructive as "man"? Answers?

Sorry...I'm in one of my "moods".

;-)

Keisha - take it to the Oak Mountain Nature Center.They take in wildwife animals.They know how to take care of them and place them back into the wild.
Nelson - chill big daddy!

yes, like bamatufa suggested, call them at Oak Mountain. They may only take in wild birds now, but they will surely hook you up with the proper folks who can take the little bobcat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alabama Wildlife Rehab

dear keisha,how is the baby bobcat doing now? kind regards,marie

I saw a bobcat one day out trail riding on my horse on some paper co. land near Wolf Creek Rd. in St. Clair Co. That's probably the coolest thing I've seen out riding.

The people I boarded my horse with there said they had seen big cats (black panthers or whatever). I think there probably are big cats around. The guy I bought my car from in Thorsby delivered papers as a side job and also swore he saw one in someone's yard one morning on his route.

I did have to laugh one day at a guy I had over working on something at my house one day. I noticed his eyes all bugged out and said, "what's wrong?" He said, "what the h#ll is that?!?" He was looking down the hall at my Maine Coon - black, huge cat (30 lbs and not fat). He swore he had to have panther in him! LOL!

I have twice seen and several times heard bobcats at our hunting club in Lee county near Rowells Crossroads. other hunters have also. About three years ago I believe I saw a young black cougar. It was as long as a bobcat but shorter legs and had a long fluffy tail. Could have been one of your Maine Coon cats maybe. Too big for a common housecat and pretty far from any houses.

Yesterday I saw a news report on the internet that a cougar had been road killed in Connecticut that DNA testing showed conclusively had been Caught, measured, blood drawn and released several years ago in N.Dekota, 1500 miles away. There had been no cougar sightings in Cn in 150 yr.
There had been unverified sightings reported first in Mn and then Oh which they speculated could have been this cougar. Neither of those states has a sustained cougar population.
Most. if not all, Al. sightings have been of black cats which means they are from the Florida strain of cougars. that's why they used to be called panthers.

Yesterday I saw a news report on the internet that a cougar had been road killed in Connecticut that DNA testing showed conclusively had been Caught, measured, blood drawn and released several years ago in N.Dekota, 1500 miles away. There had been no cougar sightings in Cn in 150 yr.
There had been unverified sightings reported first in Mn and then Oh which they speculated could have been this cougar. Neither of those states has a sustained cougar population.
Most. if not all, Al. sightings have been of black cats which means they are from the Florida strain of cougars. that's why they used to be called panthers.

My husband Bob and I were taking our sun set golf cart ride to enjoy and photograph the wild life in our neighborhood. We usually see Deer, Turkey, Fox and Raccoons lots of bird species and the usuall you would expect to see in a wooded neighborhood. After we saw a few deer it was starting to get dark and the mosquitos started to swarm so we heading back to the home front when we spotted something very large and muscular just along the wood line walking very boldley and confident. To our amusement excitment and fear we realized it wasn't like any thing we've seen before other than in the Zoo. I took as many pictures as I could and captured what we think is a Bob Cat! I looked it up and it appears to be a Bob Cat. I hope the pics post on here. It's my first time on this web sight. So glad I found It so I could share my story. We live in Trussville in Carrington. We saw the Bob Cat in the back of the neiborhood close to Blake Jack Road.

Yes, it's a bobcat. I know how exciting it was to see one in the wild.

Off topic, but there was a bear in Opelika the other day. It made the news:

http://www.oanow.com/news/opelika/article_6adf8bb0-f31a-11e2-b83f-001a4bcf6878.html

Cool! Nice pic.Carrington is surrounded by deep woods.All kinds of wildlife around your neighborhood.
Mikcru- we had a bear sighting in Trussville last year.It was not confirmed but they said it was possible. South Alabama has a population of bears over on the Mobile side of the state. Surprised me to see a bear crossing road sign while traveling north of Mobile a couple of years ago. A buddy at my work knew about them but I had no idea.

Back in the 1960's my grandfather shot and killed a black panther in the Moody/Leeds Alabama area, so there is definitely big cats in Alabama.

As a former Wildlife Control Specialist in Jefferson and surrounding counties, I would rank Trussville as the city with the highest chance to see our cool predators. As you have probably seen on tv and in newspapers, Trussville has also had it's share of bear and alligator encounters in the past 5 years. As for the bobcat, they are totally harmless to people unless the animal is sick (which is rare). If it is a female with small ones, she will protect her den, but otherwise consider it a priveledge to have the opportunity to observe one up close.