Big cats and coyotes? What’s in the forest?

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Are big cats stalking the night woods of the High Country?

A number of people have reported seeing what they believed to be mountain lions, as well as increased numbers of coyotes and bobcats, over the past few years, and though hard evidence remains lacking, the reports are enough to generate interest as hunting season deepens.

Isaac Critcher, Watauga County’s damage control agent for the N.C. Wildlife Service, said, “You hear a little bit of everything. I can’t say for sure that mountain lions are here, but people are definitely seeing something.”

Mountain lions need a large amount of hunting territory to survive, and conventional wisdom has it that the big cats died out in the early 1900s as human development spread into the mountains.

The animals, also known as cougars, catamounts, wildcats or panthers, were once common in the east, though now are predominately found only in the western mountains.

Florida still has native populations of panthers, but many of the eastern states have spawned reports of sightings without offering hard evidence.

Critcher said theories abound, ranging from one that the state released mountain lions into the wild to control deer and turkey populations to a belief the animals have migrated to the area from Florida.

The Western North Carolina Nature Center, based in Asheville, speculates that the few authentic sightings are actually those of big cats that were originally caged, but then introduced back into the wild by owners tired of the expense and maintenance in keeping them as pets.

Blue Ridge Parkway officials receive about five reports of mountain lion sightings a year, though few are made by biologists or naturalists. According to the Nature Center, a federal and a state agency spent three years on a study, beginning in 1977, when environmental groups threatened to sue timber companies to stop logging in areas where cougars were reported. Though officials didn’t discount all the reports, they found no tracks. Two cougars recently killed by vehicles turned out to have identifying markings that meant they were raised in captivity.

Since deer are the favorite prey of big cats, and deer populations are booming due to restricted hunting and lack of hunter access to large pieces of land, cougars may be a natural population check. Michael Doyle, a groundskeeper at the Pisgah National Forest, has no doubt he observed one in the national park. He said he knew what it was because he’d seen wild mountain lions out west.

“I saw it while I was hunting in Pisgah,” he said. “I reported it and the people with the state said I was crazy.”

Doyle believes there are areas of remote Madison County where the big cats could live without detection. “It’s possible they never got extinct,” he said. “Scientists believe they are extinct, so when people report them, nobody believes it.”

Mountain lions are nocturnal, tend to hunt alone, and are relatively silent. Encounters with humans would be rare since they tend to live in remote areas. Since they are a protected species, hunters might be punished if they reported killing one or turned in its corpse.

Critcher and Doyle believe that, because biologists think the animal is regionally extinct, no formal investigations would be launched. Some reported sightings have been attributed to gray foxes, dogs, bears or bobcats, and “black panthers” are believed to be stray Labrador retrievers.

While mountain lions remain a subject of debate, the proliferation of coyotes in the Southern Appalachians is well-known. Critcher said coyotes, as well as bobcats, are overpopulated and may be causing problems for livestock. Because they hunt in packs and have more exposure to humans, they may be losing their innate fear of their deadliest enemy and therefore may become more dangerous.

Critcher said there are different breeds of coyotes, with different colorings, and some may be breeding with domestic dogs. That further makes them lose their fear of humans, though Critcher said they generally would only attack a human if cornered or somehow threatened.

“They’re losing a little more fear of humans,” Critcher said. “They’re a problem for livestock and they’re becoming a nuisance.”

Coyotes aren’t protected and anyone can shoot them on their own land, he said, adding that there is no limit on the number that a person can kill. They often travel in packs of up to 20 animals and are territorial, with most sightings in western Watauga and Wilkes counties.

Bobcats, like coyotes, might prey on small pets or livestock such as chickens. While beaver populations are also swelling, they are not as large a threat. The biggest problem for most people is the white-tailed creatures that evoke images of the movie “Bambi.”

“Deer are probably the worst right now,” Critcher said. “You can hardly go down the road without seeing one where it’s been hit by a car. There have been so many accidents. Part of the problem is hunters are limited on the number they can shoot.”

While deer encounters are more often likely to cause insurance problems, coyotes may carry rabies or suffer from distemper, which might also make them more dangerous if threatened. Because of the amount of rabies cases in the wild animal population, carcasses are no longer routinely checked for the disease.

While mountain lions may be more a nostalgic legend than actual modern predator, the fact remains that incontrovertible proof has not yet been provided to support their return to the area. However, catamount fans might take comfort in the fact that their absence can never be completely proven, either.