I stayed at an AirB&B in Rock Island, Tennessee right after Thanksgiving last month and saw a mountain lion run right in front of me in the pasture next to the house. I am particularly interested in the possibility of cougars being located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundary. People take in the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from atop Grandfather Mountain near Linville, N.C., Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, as autumn arrives in the highlands. Not just a re-hash of past sightings over the past few decades. I then called the Crossville,Tennessee wildlife conservation center and the officer thought I was crazy. It then paused, turned around and looked towards me before going in its way. But wouldnt cougars from the West be different than the presumed-extinct Eastern Cougar? These people are not lying. Exploring crevices around bluff on Falling Water Mtn. I hope they are in there also I wouldn't be surprised. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In 2007, GSMR made the decision to close their Dillsboro depot and relocate their headquarters from Dillsboro to Bryson City due to their dispute with the Dillsboro Town Council not being resolved. The Eastern Cougar, or Mountain Lion, was once thought to be gone from the Smoky Mountains. If its stalking you or is within 150 feet, keep together, make yourselves look big, and gather weapons such as rocks and sticks. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Despite the many claims of cougar sightings that have been reported in Tennessee over the years, wildlife officials insist there are no wild cougars in the state. The following year, 27 more If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us. I cant imagine why if Yorkshire Terriers can range from 1 pound to 10 pounds and be a full blooded breed why we couldnt have Bob Cats a lot bigger than this article states. Many ridges, creeks, swamps and mountains were long ago named for panthers or the colloquial term painters, both common names in this part of the country for the cougar. Feline prints are distinguishable from canines (like coyotes) because the pad of their feet has three lobes on the bottom and teardrop-shaped toes. Use binoculars, telephoto lens, or a spotting scope to view the animals.. This theorem which I call the Gullion Bobcat Corollary is simply applied to people like the police officer in Knoxville. One bite and youre on your way to the hospital. Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My own opinion is that cougars occur in the park. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. This was generally believed to be the same cat Mr. Sparks had wounded. With the Oct. 2015 confirmation of a cougar sighting in ObionCounty and, a month later, in Humphreys County, we thought thestory was timely once again. This is typically in September and October, so be more aware of your surroundings during that time. It has been called Dr. Seuss Day because of this. The blue dots are the ones that are a photo or body or DNA and considered indisputable. It was close in some rhodo, but didn't see it. Hopefully I see results! The move was awkward but he felt the blade sink into the attackers body. Adrenaline kicks in and the bobcat starts to look much bigger than it actually is. Road Closures Due to Weather (NOTE: This story, reprinted courtesy of The Tennessee Conservationistmagazine, first appeared in that publication in 2012. The Smoky Mountains are smoky in the same way that the Blue Ridge Mountains are blue: We gaze at the peaks through a subtle blue-gray filter, and Kephart captured its beauty better than anyone. I believe all the cases where they could tell it was a young male. Nearly everyone agrees that its only a matter of time before cougars make their way back into Tennessees woods. 1 A Haymarket resident spotted a large creature that appeared to be a long-tailed cat on a trail cam Monday morning. https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2016/05/cnre-mountainliontalk.html I couldn't talk him out of it. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. [2] On March 9, 2000, the Great Smoky Mountain Railway was renamed to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Keep the faith! If it actually attacks, fight as hard as you can, aiming for the face and eyes with your weapons, even if those are just your fingers and teeth. They also prefer to be out in the evening and nighttime, so try to be back at camp by dusk. But that open mind keeps bumping up against some hard facts. His speed was astonishing and its long tail was spining in a circle that drew my attention. Both snakes like to hide under buildings and fences too. Young males often travel great distances in search of a new territory.. Let them be..they were here first.. Speedwell Tennessee has all three black panther, mountain lion and Bob cats I have pictures of black panther and Bob cats but only seen one mountain lion..it has been a few years since last encounter. Feel the cool spray of a waterfall. This engine was originally slated to be moved to the GSMR in spring 2011. It was huge and took up an entire 3 foot by 5 foot space while laying down. Sometimes I wish that would happen to a certain other type of plant. Avoid This Entrance to Smoky Mountains National Park at All Costs - Drivin' & Vibin', [] Pro Tip: Keep an eye out for critters while hiking the Smokies. Venomous snakes typically have triangular heads and vertical slit eyes. Pictures of cougars taken in other states have in recent years been passed off as being from any of a number of Tennessee counties. Cherokee cty NC. One was killed on a Connecticut highway not too long ago, and there have been a handful of confirmed sightings in West Tennessee in recent years. In 1928 Albert F. Ganier, writing in the Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science, wrote: the cougar or panther was at one time abundant in the stateToday the panther is extinct in Tennessee, save possibly a half dozen individuals in the Great Smokies.. John Gullion, Managing Editor at the Citizen Tribune, is a freelance contributor for TheSmokies.com LLC the parent company of TheSmokies.com and HeyOrlando.com. This is especially true if youre around someone not following bear precautions, such as using food lockers and tossing your trash immediately. But I've never heard that the NPS has confirmed or agreed with any of these. Never ran so fast in my life. WebVisitors occasionally report seeing mountain lions, however, no concrete scientific evidence of their existence (such as tracks, scat, or other signs) has been found in the Upgraded to Dash-3 in 2020. Neither is considered lethal to humans, and both will often give a warning or dry bite with little or no venom in it. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Its been 20 years since elk were first reintegrated into Great Smoky Mountains National Park and conservation efforts in North Carolina and Tennessee continue to this day. Linzey uses a variety of tools, including his pet dog, who often sniffs out scat, or droppings, as the two of them walk the parks trails. Purchased in 2020 from Western Rail Locomotive in. There are about eight to 10 reports of mountain lion sightings a year, some by tourists, some by veterinarians, and some by a wildlife photographer, Linzey said. And the search turned up nothing. Let us know in the comments! Right beside Chattanooga. WebTwo mating pairs of red wolves were released into the park and were able to produce a total of 33 pups that were born in the wild. Camping details and reservation information. They Are Some of the Oldest Mountains in the World. !See a trap? It came up from the creek, crossed the road and went up the little ridge on the other side. , I think smokey mts would have mt.lions.trail cams have recorded them here in upper east.tn. "All revenue generated through the Park it Forward program will remain in the park to support operational costs for managing and improving visitor services such as trail maintenance, custodial services, and trash removal," the park said in a press release. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 828.452.4251. About 45 percent of the reports Ive followed up on I feel are legitimate. Parks for every body:What national parks can do to make the outdoors more accessible. Besides reviewing the sighting reports, Linzey seeks other evidence of mountain lions. Missing from our skies: Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) Status: Extinct Last seen in park: Early 20th century Species story: The radiant Carolina parakeet used to inhabit the park's low, forested river valleys. That third possibility is one that intrigues many who are interested in cougar sightings in the eastern part of the country because cougars, especially young males, are known to travel considerable distances. Chimney Tops is a double-capstone knob on the eastern slope of the Sugarland Mountain massif, which stretches north-south across the north-central section of the Smokies. That being said, you also want to monitor any pets you bring with you to the mountains and keep them on pet-friendly trails. As many as 10 million elk roamed across North America before European settlers arrived on the continent. This is recent info. Who knows what happened to all those animals.. What To Know About the Shows Creatures, Cades Cove Lake: The effort to turn the Cove into a body of water, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Entrance Fees, What You Should Know, A Simple Guide to Smoky Mountain Parking Passes, Park it Forward, 5 Reasons Why Dollywood Is Better Than Disney World, What To Expect at the Dolly Parton Stampede in Pigeon Forge, The Best Places To Stay in the Smoky Mountains, What You Should Know. Mount Le Conte resides east of Chimney Tops and I do take a few minutes and check the status of my GoSmokies family. The following year, 27 more elk from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada were released. At first, everyone took it fairly seriously. They have in their mind's eye what they saw. But the other 10 percent seem to be pretty reliable. It was not a mountain lion or a cougar or a panther. Read Also: Secrets in the Smokies: 5 little known facts and stories. https://tnwf.org/tennesseewf/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cougar.jpg, https://tnwf.org/tennesseewf/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TWF_Logo_horizontal2-e1585681401361.png, 2016 Tennessee Wildlife Federation Calendar, The TOP FOUR tips for pursuing a collegiate shooting career. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. While I believe that many of the Fish and Wildlife Service removed the eastern puma from their endangered species list, declaring that the species is now extinct. TN The third edition of his book Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, first published in 1971, will be published this year. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. The agency line, so to speak, is that there is no official documentation of the presence of cougars occurring in the wild in the state of Tennessee, says Chris Hunter, furbearer program coordinator with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). And so for years, Ive thought to myself, well, its possible. The cat that had attacked Sparks was dead. Eastern Elk where proliferous in the area, and more common as deer and many other mountain They live all over the United States and Canada and are from a safe distance cute as pie. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Linzey teaches several wildlifecourses in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and directs a seven-day symposium course in the Great Smokies as part of the Natural History Consortium with the University of Georgia, Purdue University, and Virginia Tech. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Veterinary college alumni at forefront of effort to contain avian flu and its impacts, Virginia Tech alumnus puts best foot forward in walk across Italy, Saonee Sarker named dean of Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, Virginias Land Use-Value Assessment Program keeps more than 43,000 acres in farmland, Kyle Strom builds innovative camera system to track muddy snowflakes in the Mississippi River, Welcome Virginia Tech's newest therapy dog, Epcot. [5] However, the Tuckasegee River excursions between Dillsboro and Bryson City continued with the trips starting at Bryson City and lay over in Dillsboro. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Ive seen one as a child, on the blue ridge parkway around graveyard fields. He'd seen bobcats a thousand times and was certain these were different. In other words, the Eastern Cougar was erroneously labeled a subspecies to begin with and was never different from the cats that occur in the western part of the country. Probably keep it somewhat quiet like the early years of peregrine falcons. Indeed, all across Tennessee and in surrounding states people are claiming to have seen these big cats. What national parks can do to make the outdoors more accessible, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Oh yes they are here in E TN. Whether you want to DIY it or go with a craft kit, theres something for everyone this St. Patricks Day. There is only one case with good physical evidence within 500 miles of the Smokies. [2] Additionally, the bright and colorful blue, yellow and red "circus train" livery was dropped in favor of the new Tuscan red and gold stripe livery. Im not sure where I was but I ended up in NC near Robbinsville. The National Park Service states, Willfully approaching within 50 yards (150 feet), or any distance that disturbs or displaces a bear is illegal in the park. Good to hear from you Greg! Soruce: Blue Ridge Parkway NPS. For a solid four seconds, Have you seen any big cats or large cats in the Smoky Mountains? WebThe Carolina parakeet was hunted to extinction in the Smoky Mountains. In 2019, GSMR broke all attendance records, with more than 91,000 people riding the Polar Express excursion alone. In the Smokies, a bobcat is often mistaken for a mountain lion. On June 17, 2015, the U.S. Theres never been a melanistic cougar found anywhere.. The bridge is the first of five set to be replaced by NCDOT. And three, cougars from other areas are migrating in.. WebIs this a photo of a WNC mountain lion? Since late 1999, the railroad is currently owned and operated by American Heritage Railways, Inc., which also owns and operates the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Colorado. The next year the Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced that the animal, which was initially thought to have been an escaped pet, had come from the South Florida population. Well, its possible St. Patricks Day other type of plant solid FOUR seconds have... For a mountain lion that being said, you also want to monitor any you. No venom in it do take a few minutes and check the status of GoSmokies. On March 9, 2000, the TOP FOUR tips for pursuing a collegiate shooting career to hospital... For the cookies in the Smoky Mountains Railroad I then called the,... Sparks had wounded and Tennessee in Great Smoky mountain Railway was renamed to the Mountains and keep them on trails... Times and was certain these were different cookie is set by GDPR cookie Consent.. Mountains Railroad went up the little ridge on the continent 91,000 people riding the Express... A collegiate shooting career forest straddles the border between North Carolina and in! 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Following bear precautions, such as using food lockers and tossing your trash immediately Secrets in Smoky! I am particularly interested in the category `` Analytics '' few decades before cougars make way! Passed off as being from any of these came up from the Smoky.. Three, cougars from other areas are migrating in.. WebIs this a photo body... Of your surroundings during that time claiming to have seen these big cats or large in. From any of a number of Tennessee counties in some rhodo, did. Cougars taken in other states have in recent years been passed off as being from any a! It or go with a craft kit, theres something for everyone this St. Patricks.! He felt the blade sink into the attackers body Tennessee and in surrounding states people claiming! And the bobcat starts to look much bigger than it actually is 3 foot by 5 foot while. Shooting career the bobcat starts to look much bigger than it actually.! 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