A wild turkey flew right over my head when out cycling recently, but bobcats are even rarer to see. They're nocturnal, so you hardly ever see in daytime even if they're around.

Sure it wasn't my manx cat, Alicia, looking for voles? lol. We have turkeys too and it's strange to see them. Even stranger is the blue heron that fishes in my 6 ft-diameter koi pond - boy does he look ridiculous. Strange scene: We live outside Hillsborough and we had coffee at Cup-a-Joe on King Street and Chrurton last month during turkey season. Picture outdoor bistro tables at Cup-a-Joe and 2 doors down more bistro tables at the French patisserie (yumyum if you haven't been there yet), with Carolina Game&Fish in between the two, with their tripod scale out on the sidewalk, turkey hanging from it, and guys in camo with more birds lined up to weigh their birds. Paris sidewalk scene plus scene from "Deliverance".

Here in NC I hardly ever see wildlife - I don't even have deer in my yard even though it is solid woods with a creek and just over an acre, AND there's a nice big park down the street with a large lake.... I see tracks near the creek but I have never seen a deer in my yard or on the street. They must think there is a big mean dog in the yard, but she's inside snoozing on the couch.

Back when I lived more primitively in a hand made cabin on 12 acres (surrounded by 450 acres of deer lease land in central Oklahoma) I saw bobcats at least once a season. One time there was a cluster of bobcat kittens out exploring on the road while I was turning a corner. They freaked out so bad they just sat still like no one could see them if they didn't move (somewhere I have a picture of that). And for a few years after I first built the cabin there was this monster large bobcat that used to hang out around the front porch. He/she was very tall and thin. I could tell by the ratty looks of it that it was either very old or very sick. Whatever its problem was it had no fear of humans and would amble down the driveway while I was standing on the porch screaming into my cell phone, "there's a bobcat not more than 20 feet away!!!" It seemed to like to sniff my truck tire right after I had pulled into the drive way. Wish it would have solved the packrat problem I was having.

Ha ha, not it really was a bobcat. The funny thing is that their tails almost look like bunny tails -- they're white underneath. It was I'd guess maybe twice the size of a domestic cat.

I put my cats on the porch until I can go outside with them -- they're pissed off right now. I was surprised and little leary to see this cat out during the day, but it looked well and looked as though it was going somewhere in particular.

I see deer all the time (naturally) and gray fox quite often. Mink -- I've seen one swimming in the ditch near my house. That's probably what the neighbors try to trap. We may have flying squirrels down by the creek too, but I'm not usually down there at dusk unless I'm on the tractor. The reason I think we may have flying squirrels is that they're at Mason Farm and the NC Botanical Garden, and it's similar habitat. No turkey -- the underbrush is too dense.

Alicia, that is so neat! (not that I wouldn't be frightened of it. ) I didn't know there were any around here. Fox are rare enough! We get the occasional deer or raccoons, but nothing cool like that. -Ais.

Very cool Alicia! This is surely one of the perks of living in North Carolina in my opinion. I'm infatuated with the wildlife here..except for the sssssnakes. When I lived near Seattle, I would often see migrating whales and deer on the same day within a quarter of a mile of each other, or racoons and seals, and I was always taken aback. It always struck me as so weird to see this combination of mammals so close together.

A few years back there was a bobcat hanging around my mother's neighborhood. It looked bad and didn't appear to be scared of any people who were about. They assumed it might be rabid and called animal control. I'm not sure what happened- if it went away on its own or was picked up but it really freaked my mother out. She was scared to go outside.

I haven't seen a bobcat (yet), but we do have a wild pig. Just one. It sure is a homely thing!

I saw a dead juvenille mountain lion on highway 1 just before you exit for sharon harris. I know it was a mountian lion because I turned around went back got out of my car and got within 3 feet of it. No short stubby tail on this guy and way too big to be domestic he had to weigh at least 70 pounds.

I live in Fuquay Varina and I see lots of stuff... Turkeys, fox, bobcats, deer, eastern screech owls mostly birds.

Stacette - when was that? I could have sworn I saw a dead mountain lion exactly where you're talking about. I think it was last summer.
Dana

hollyclyff -- IT was last summer. I was coming back from BB/Sanford and saw this big cat laying under a guard rail and I thought that can't be right?? I turned around and went back...the cat was not visibly hurt in anyway he must have died from poison or been hit by a car. I was stunned because officially they do not live here although sightings are reported all the time.

I also saw a pair of quail just the other day on Highway 42 on my way to PDN.

And I thought I must just be seeing things, but it really was a mountain lion. Wow.
And I was coming back from the same place!
Dana

It's interesting because their (mountain lions) existence as a wild population is somewhat debated. I think the consensus among experts is that the few that are seen are escaped or released from captivity. There were only two found as roadkill. One must have been yours! But one was tagged and the other declawed so they were definately not wild. It's sad to know that we killed them off around here, and they might have helped with the deer population. But you know, I was really nervous about them when I was hiking with my 2 small children in Boulder, CO where they definately still live. I know more people are probably killed by accidents involving deer. I wish we had not killed off so many of the natural predators in our area. I think their benefits outweigh their dangers and damages. Oops, I'm starting to sound preachy, so I'd better stop...It's just a topic I find very fascinating. -Ais.

My first thought was that the dead mountain lion was escaped or released from captivity. I'd expect to see them more toward the coast or the mountains if any are still around.

Here is a link that may be useful: Mountain lions in the wild

we found a paw print of one in dupont state forest by a pond several yrs ago. we talked to a ranger about it, and he said there'd been one rumored to be around, so it was very plausible. it was large and had no hint whatsoever of claws. gave me chill bumps. i can't imagine finding a body. how sad.

our most recent brush with wildlife came about a month ago as i was cleaning the last of the leaves out of my front beds. i was working from the ditch side because it was almost dark, and reaching around some plants, when i saw something white hand sized move out of the corner of my eye 6" from my hand. i jumped, shreiked, and then started laughing. it was a huge possum head- it'd nestled under my heather, not 2.5' from the rd. i was concerned because it was very docile right when it should have been active, so i called my neighbor who's a naturalist. it was so tame i worked around it for probably 10 minutes, even stroking its back with my trowel (i had heavy leather gloves on). very non-threatening. almost cute, actually. long story short, he said wait a bit and if it was still there he'd come over. it didn't move, so we figured it was hurt, he came and lifted it up, to dicovered she had a passel of babies and was unharmed, just resting i guess. so he took her to his much safer backyard and released her in the woods somewhere later. he told me that possums and other marsupials very very rarely carry rabies, so that greatly eased my fears.

i also untangled a hognose snake who'd gotten itself really enmeshed in the pond netting- after my frogs i guess. it was just fine with some judicious snipping. calm as could be. i'd untangled a black snake a yr or two before who wasn't nearly as accomodating.

we see the occasional coon & deer, more often see herons fly over, hawks, tons of assorted birds & reptiles- lizards, turtles & snakes. we hear owls, but haven't seen them. luckily the herons haven't discovered our little ponds & that's the way i hope it stays. we're beside a sewage easement (deer highway) and back up to lake easement (read swamp), so they have plenty of area to fish in. see lots of things back there- turtles, snakes, ducks, geese, beavers, herons & more. any bullfrogs that find their way to the pond go back to the swamp- too big of appetites & mouths. green/bronze frogs can stay- they are king in our little paradise. we've had a crippled one stay for 4 yrs now. we make frequent turtle trips back there anytime we find an aquatic one alongside the rd, or often, on our doorstep- sometimes big! no snappers yet. no bobcats, yet, either. that's pretty cool!!

I saw a cougar while kayaking in an estuarine creek in Pamlico County about fifteen years ago. I was absolutely certain of what I saw, and it left me shaken (not because I was scared but because I was seeing something that wasn't supposed to be possible). I reported it to the Fish & Wildlife Svc. and was told if I had in fact seen what I claimed it was an escaped/released pet. Made perfect sense as a many of the few houses in the vicinity still had outhouses - so of course they had disposable income for exotic pets, right? :)

This was in a remote, densely vegetated area, though, not a hop, skip, and a jump from the Triangle, so I suspect your dead cat was a former captive.

Clicked to see your page to see where you lived. That would make it relevant to us here in Lewisville NC (and elsewhere). What a shame. You dont say anything about your location on your page. Location location location. Here in our town, we havent seen anything but the usual varmints. Anyone in my area seen any wildlife lately besides the usual? I would have frieked if I saw a cat that big... however, it does sound exciting. Isnt nature beautiful? In all its forms. Robin

Well my page did used to say where I live but GardenWeb deleted it in that mess a few months ago. :) Smithfield, a half an hour south and east of Raleigh. My property abuts one of the tributaries of the Neuse River, which has many acres of undeveloped flood plain.

While I'm surprised but not totally shocked that bobcat are here, I was really surprised to see it. I just happened to be looking out the window at the right time. If I'd been outside it probably would have been too leary to show itself.

Surface noise,
That's too bad the Fish and Wildlife Service didn't count yours as a valid report. I think that's just a rote response they tell everyone -- I don't think they'd count a sighting as valid unless they saw it themselves. I can definitely see why they're skeptical, but I think sometimes they overdo it.

Our little garden of eden is in the _middle_ of Charlotte, at the end of a drainage easement, and we counted 18 deer running through here last month.

There is a great blue heron that checks out our pond, but we covered it with mesh last year. Lost some lovely fish to the big guy earlier.

Quail bob around now and then under the shrubbery.

There are 4 red tailed hawks that soar overhead as I watch the song birds dive for cover.

Nearby is a fox den in a little hill.

I absolutely adore this urban wildlife area. Our mountain cabin has fewer critters in the surrounds!

Not as unusual as a bobcat, but a large snapper just emerged from the ditch near our house. Well over a foot long from the nose to the end of the tail. I saw it climbing out of the ditch from the kitchen window and went out for a closer look. They always know you're coming, and will stop and give you a warning look.

This is a great thread! My husband saw a bobcat several years ago near Weyerhaeuser in Plymouth. I believe that's in Martin County. I live in Chowan County. Like tamelask, we see alot of coon, deer, turtles, etc. and occasionally bear, but I'm so wishing I could see a bobcat or something as erotic. My greatest excitement with wildlife in the recent past was trying to get a hawk to drop a young squirrel. I'm not sure if the hawk flew -at- me or was just trying to get away with his prize, but nonetheless, I ducked! *lol* Also, several years ago a mother bear and her cub was up a tree in my neighbors yard, right along the river's edge. Unfortunately, word got out quick and we got bombarded with onlookers. It was 3 days before she ever got her baby away, stealing away in the middle of the night.

Really sorry to hear about the young mountain lion. It's probably been about 15 years since the red wolf release. Has anyone spotted one?

I meant -exotic-. What was I thinking? *lol*

Oh, Ok, is it now safe to list off the 'erotic' things we've stumbled upon in the woods??? just kidding. I did work for a short time for the State Parks Dept back in Oklahoma and we had to bust up a prostitution enterprize being run in a camp ground in TENTS!!!

I have heard the red wolves - at that parking area where the ranger leads a night walk and everybody practices their wolf howls. I've seen grey wolves in Minnesota and Alaska, both times they were right beside the road and not afraid of humans at all.

The only US large land mammal I haven't seen in the wild is a mountain lion. I've seen tracks and scat but no live beast. Same story with Ocelots in far south Texas, the one I thought I saw turned out to be distinctfully spotted bobcat when I finally got close enough to see him clearly. Oh and I've camped in the area down along the US Mexico border where the occasional jaguar has been spotted - not by me though.

The best wildlife 'thing' going on in my backyard is that this year I have two pairs of Wood Thrushes singing to me. They are my all time favorite backyard bird.

I think the Wood Thrush has the most beautiful song of any songbird. I remember a graduate student at Duke describing sitting outside a cabin near Cornell one rainy evening and listening to three different species of thrushes: Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, and Veery.

I believe the snapping turtle was looking for a place to lay her eggs yesterday. There were several dug-out spots at the very back of the garden.

I should have called wildlife control about the dead mountain lion but I did not ... I promise I will next time!

I also have stories about a pileated woodpecker and an eastern screech owl both just chance sightings. I watch the news for sightings of ivory billed woodpeckers and was just blown away when I saw a pileated. ( I was in Daniel Island SC) The owl was on highway 751 in New Hill sitting in an old barn. My daughter saw him so we turned around and took pictures ... I got about 5 feet from him. I would post the pictures but can't figure out how. If you are interested in NC wildlife there is a great website www.carolinanature.com.

I was excited to spot both a red-headed woodpecker and a pileated in our back yard recently. I had not seen either of these here (recently moved from West Raleigh to Cary/Apex area) before. Guess you can't consider the possum on our deck last week exotic, huh?

possums aren't exotic, but cool nonetheless. anyhow, bobcats aren't exotic, either, just rare to sight.

we had a pair of pileateds visit about a yr ago. we were so excited we watched them flit around to all the snags around our back yard for a few hrs. our camera doesn't have a good zoom or i'd have gotten some decent pix. we'd seen a couple singles about before, but never a pair. i just found our recently what the call sounds like and they must be back in the swamp, because i hear the call a lot and hadn't known what it was. i guess they aren't so uncommon anymore- supposedly some will come into feeders, at least where you offer the right thing and they're plentiful. they still are as shock to see regardless- so big & majestic!! never seen a redheaded here, but i did see one headed back from holden beach along the road (alive) one time.

moonie, the bear story is funny. poor thing. can't say we've seen a bear- and frankly, hope it stays that way ( at least in the back yard!!) tam

We're new to Greenville. One day at dusk we saw a really huge outline of a cat crossing the road while following a riverbed. We didn't know what to think. My son in law who, is from downeast, and rides his trail bike in the woods, told us he has seen one too. Not to mention two bears in the field across from our small town of Winterville.

Linda NC

Whoa! When you put the headphones on and go listening to digital bird sounds, make sure your teenagers haven't just gotten off! Nothing like a pileated woodpecker screaming in your ear. *lol* I'm not lucky when it comes to bird watching... I have 6 cats. It -is- funny though to watch the bluejays divebombing them. Ok, its not funny.. that -could- hurt. Well, on second thought, yeah it is!

TriangleJohn: Hard for a girl to make a living in that neck of the woods, I see. Or they just met up with the wrong john, huh? :)

tamelask: You can have our resident possum. He ocmes up on the porch every night and eats all the cat food we put out. The cats just sit there not giving the possum a second thought. It's "share, and share alike" around here, I guess.

Stacette's owl reminded me of this owl we used to see when we'd drive up to Virginia. This owl would be sitting in the barn loft every time we'd pass by. I mean -every time-! It took awhile before we realized it wasn't real. *lol*

one time, i watched seen jays divebombing a very unconcernd hawk for probably 20 mins. that is, til one hit him. then he finally had enough & flew off. funny, though.

nah- you keep your possum- he likes *your* cat food. :) we have enough 'round about these parts already. something sure was scampering about tonight when i went out on the deck to retrieve something after dark. didn't get a look, but it had to be possum or bigger size from the racket.

i have parrots. i know what loud bird screaming next to one's ear sounds like & it ain't fun. ouch.

tam

Tam: I don't know how old you are, but there was this episode of Dick Van Dyke where little Richie (I think that was his name) was having his hair ripped out by nest-building birds. Was probably jays. *lol*

And yeah, need to keep the possum here getting his nightly quoto of the catfood. One of my cats weighs 19 lbs, another 17. The vet said it could take them 2 years to take off the extra weight. So far both of them have lost an astounding...... 0 pounds. :(

I've always wondered why I haven't ever gotten a parrot.. then the parakeets remind me! *lol*

LOL!!! yeah, parrots are a wee bit noisier than 'keets. and mine are small parrots- not the ones who can REALLY make noise. they give so much back, though- they are like extra kids. funny, smart & silly, they keep life interesting (and aggravating sometimes). not to mention makng my ears ring. :)

i'm 36, so i have seen some d.v.d. shows, but it was when i was small. never saw that episode. i'm thankful my jays mostly stay up in the pines and leave me and my songbirds be. they & the crows have scream fights up there sometimes.

i've had corpulant cats before, and know how hard it is to get them to slim down. they simply aren't interested. the only way i ever found was to limit what they could eat- fed them once a day, as much as they were supposed to eat for the day, rather than a bowlful they could eat at will. when we moved here and they were allowed outside during the day, they slimmed down a lot just from the extra excercise. they've been gone a while now, and i miss them, but with allergies & asthsma, and now birds, we won't be getting more.

tam

LOL!!! yeah, parrots are a wee bit noisier than 'keets. and mine are small parrots- not the ones who can REALLY make noise. they give so much back, though- they are like extra kids. funny, smart & silly, they keep life interesting (and aggravating sometimes). not to mention makng my ears ring. :)

i'm 36, so i have seen some d.v.d. shows, but it was when i was small. never saw that episode. i'm thankful my jays mostly stay up in the pines and leave me and my songbirds be. they & the crows have scream fights up there sometimes.

i've had corpulant cats before, and know how hard it is to get them to slim down. they simply aren't interested. the only way i ever found was to limit what they could eat- fed them once a day, as much as they were supposed to eat for the day, rather than a bowlful they could eat at will. when we moved here and they were allowed outside during the day, they slimmed down a lot just from the extra excercise. they've been gone a while now, and i miss them, but with allergies & asthsma, and now birds, we won't be getting more.

tam