Mystery animal???

[kyle7630]

My wife and I have both seen it, me twice and her three times. It always happens the same way and within 100 yards of the same spot. When we are leaving or coming to our house, about 2 miles down the road. Something darts across the road and you just get a decent glance at it. Enough to seem like you could identify it but we can't. It is as big as a coyote, moves ALOT like a cat, thick bushy tail that is carried like a cat also. At first I thought bob cat but if it is one, it is HUGE. I breed and show pitbulls and I can say this thing is as big as my 60lb. male easy. It is very dark gray. Like the color of dogs that is described as blue. The area we see it in is NC wildlife turff. No houses very close. We have seen it close to dawn, dusk, and the middle of the day. I'm baffled??? Any thoughts?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Im guessing mountain lion.

 

[MissPrissy]

Endangered, non-marine mammals in North Carolina:

Gray bat
Indiana bat
Virginia big-eared bat
Northern flying squirrel
Red wolf
Mountain Lion (or Cougar)
In the mountains, there are small populations cougars, bobcats and bears as well as re-introduced grey wolves and elk.

Cougar? Grey wolves?

http://www.mammalsociety.org/statelists/ncmammals.html​

 

[horsejody]

Chupacabra

 

[ChickMagnate]

My initial guess is Red Wolf. Although extremely rare, there is an ongoing reintroduction of the Red Wolf into northeastern North Carolina. They are "red", but do have a bluish pattern that may be prominent during some parts of the year or due to genetics. Probably not a Bobcat because they do not have long tails. You say it moves with a cat like motion. However, your limited sighting time could be interpreted that way. Could also be a coyote. Last guess would be some non-native species introduced into your area by mistake (escape) or illegally on purpose. Longshot.
Since you have traditionlally seen it in the same area, why not set up a trail camera and see if you get any pictures. Good luck identifying it.

 

[themoorethemerrier]

Sounds like the same thing we saw last summer here in Upstate NY. There were rumors that mountain lions were being brought here to keep down the overwhelming coyote population, but the Dept of Cons denied that. On just our road there were multiple incedents of cattle being killed by an unknown predator, unlike coyote or even bear attacks. By fall, there were four actual sightings of mountain lions. We've noted that seasons bring changes to the color of their coat, so...

We did have a few HUGE coyotes with darker coloring a few years ago, as well. Something about them being crossed with a timber wolf? They were causing quite a stir. My father had a few friends say that they lost some large dogs to them, too...

If you feel a mystery needing to be solved, since you know the general trails they take, you may find droppings or tracks. But just go during the day and take your wife with you, for protection...

Get out a handy-dandy nature guide and have fun, Sherlock!

The Moores

 

[Wynette]

I have absolutely no idea, but is it too big to be a fox?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I have seen a Mountain Lion in town. It was sitting on a fallen tree. I emailed the DEC and they said nothing. I know for a fact that they have been releasing cougars into Upstate NY to control the deer popultion. On of my family members neighbors had a large animal break into their chicken pen. So they called up the DEC, and they sent some guy out. He told him that he want supposed to say anything, but the DEC had released cougars to control the local deer population. So the next day he called up the DEC, and they were quiet as a mouse, and wouldnt say anything. They are such a bunch of liars. Plus, my family members have been seeing cougars and bobcats. They live about 10 min. away from me.

 

[kyle7630]

Quote:
It's more of a curiosity thing for me. I got a good enough look that I would have been able to identify almost any other animal easily. It is usually easy to say, oh that was a coon or opposum, or a turkey. I have never seen a coyote other than from a good distance in Montana. I have never seen and hope like heck never to see a wolf or mountian lion here. I asked about coyote in this area a while back and was told there are coyote and red wolf around for sure. I never asked about mountian lion though. I did see a special about them on the show monster quest but that's it. I agree with the thought of maybe getting overly excited about it being so unfamiliar to me and that clouding my thought on it. Maybe it was a coyote or coydog that looked bigger with the hair ??? I think I will try to swap something on CL for a game cam and give it a go. Can you do that on land that you don't own?

Thanks for all of the responses.

Chupacabra!!! lol. I figured that one would be mentioned too. lol

 

[Small Town Girl]

Sounds like a cougar to me. Even if they aren't native to your area, it could have been introduced by a human. There was a case in Springfield, IL a few years ago where two fishermen found a baby cougar crying on the shore of a lake. They fed it hot dogs and called Animal Control. Turns out the poor thing had been purchased at an exotic animal auction in MO and the idiot buyer then got nervous about having illegal wildlife, so he dumped it. After the story had appeared on the news, a disgruntled ex-girlfriend came forward and turned the idiot into the authorities, which is how they found out where the cougar came from.

At any rate, keep your eyes peeled and your chickens locked up tight! I think checking for tracks and scat is a good idea, but go during the day and with someone else. Chances are you wouldn't see it during the day, but better safe than sorry!