Biology

From the passenger seat my wife saw a large big cat, and said it definitely was not a bobcat. Seemed taller, and could tell is paws were darker, likely muddy. It was in a tree line off the highway, and there was a field behind the trees, and she could see more trees in the distance behind that field.

This happened in 1996. It still haunts me. I called 911 and they thought I was pranking them. I really thought animal had escaped zoo or circus.

This cat body consumed complete lane of traffic, with tail taking up adjacent lane. Tail was as big in diam as firehouse.

I know this isn't West Tennessee but I thought it might help to have reports from outside the immediate area.

We were driving through a sparsely inhabited stretch of highway when we spotted what we first thought was a deer run in front of the vehicle. I immediately noticed the shoulder blades were very feline and the animal had a very long tail that was also feline (not rigid like a dog or coyote). None of us got a good look at the head of the animal. We almost hit it, and could see the back, shoulders, and tail above the hood of the vehicle so it had to be larger than a domestic cat.

I was looking for deer and thought I saw one but it was a cat in the early light it was a gray brown color almost like a deer in winter. The cat was going across a freshly planted field and could tell it was a cat by the way it moved across the field.

It bounded into the treeline when I stopped the truck to get a better look.

about 7 feet from head to tail

about 7 feet from head to tail

So for past year I thought my friends were mistaken that bobcats have short tails. I didn't know what else to call it. Keep reading and this will come together.

I was deer hunting 11/4/12. I had been seeing some deer in the field I was hunting and used to that size of an animal. Right before dark I looked to my right @ 35-40 yards away and saw what my brain automatically processed as a "dog sized cat." It was just there. I immediately said "everyone is going to ask me if it had a short tail" so I looked the whole time.

It was getting dark but I know 100% that it had a long tail!

I thought for a sec it could be a coyote since it was getting dark, but it had a distinct hop when it went off to the creek. At a slow speed "trot" it hopped using both back feet at the same time, then the front two feet at the same time. I dont know if this helps but it looked cat like.

Anyways, I got back home and told my roommate who has killed a bobcat before about the story. I said "I think i saw a bobcat when i was hunting" He said yea they have short tails. I immediately said this did not have a short tail...100% no doubts. He said it may be a mountain lion. I didn't know they existed here, so I started reading and saw the news reports.

My mom runs at the park across from the Willowmet neighborhood in Brentwood, TN which has been in the news stories about the sighting. We live close to this area.

I also heard 3 times while hunting earlier that day an ear piercing "woman screaming like screech" I got on Youtube and looked up an female cougar mating call and I was astonished at the similarity in what I heard.

I am assuming what I saw last fall was not a bobcat, but another cougar. And I am 90% sure I saw one this past weekend.

We've lived in this house for 17 years and this is the only time that we've seen an animal like this.

I saw something come out of the woods about 60 yards away. I first thought it was a coyote, but it didn't walk like a coyote. After watching it walking across an open field, I discovered it had a face somewhat like a bobcat and a long tail.

It was about 3'long and about 2' tall. I would guess it to weigh about 80-90 pounds. It's tail was almost dragging the ground.

When it turned and looked toward me, I knew it was a mountain lion. Several weeks before, I had seen some large tracks in the mud but thought nothing about it.

Between the time I realized there was an animal staring at me and the time I stepped back outside could not have been any more than 5 or 8 seconds - at most. It was gone and I didn't see nor hear where it went.

A very quick sighting, yes, but it was also a very up-close and personal sighting. A little too close for comfort.

Just yesterday (Aug 4, 2011) in tipton county just north of shelby county. Animal control trapped a 95lb female cougar outside an abandoned house. Said they were going to try either to release her near shelby forrest or give her to the Memphis zoo.

I like to video wildlife in LBL. I have done this for the past 19 years.

I was driving down Tharpe Road in the Tennessee side of LBL in the evening.

I watched a Cougar cross a cut soeybean field. It was about 200 yards away from the road.

It would have been in hunting area 15 on the south side of Tharpe Road.

I am certain it was a cougar, however I can't say for sure if it was a pet or if it was a wild Cougar.

My child and I travel from Franklin to Murfreesboro on a regular basis commuting from work and home. We will often gaze at pastures for horses, goats, and cows.

Not sure what day it was since I am just know adding it to this place since I didn't know there was a place you could record this type of sighting. I do remember it was '06 in the late summer because it was still daylight when driving around 6:00 pm and the school year hadn't started yet. I was on the phone with my father, and on the right in a pasture/open field, a large cat ran across the field. It would leap a little so I was able to see its hind legs. I told my father, who is from this area for over 60 years what I saw, and he said "no-way. There are not cougars in this area". So I dismissed it, but I know it was a cougar. I don't have fantasies about seeing cougars in this area, so why would anyone make something like this up. Silly really, and who cares if TWRA (whoever they are) doesn't believe people seeing this animal. Really....what are they going to do if they believed you? You still can't change the fact that these cats live here in Middle TN, and I am sure they do not use birth control, so they are bound to reproduce. I am also sure that they could live in this climate, so why in the world is the TWRA in such disbelief?? Very strange to me. I thought it was cool seeing it run across the field. The thing that caught my eye to look at it was the tail. It was a long tail that the cat held slightly above its body while running. I stopped the car, pulled over, and just stared until it ran completely across the field into a thick wooded area. I can't remember if I was more on the Rutherford county side or the Williamson County side. I believe it was the Williamson county side. My dad still doesn't believe it. Oh well, I think it was very cool! I hope I see another some day!

I am 100% sure it was a cougar. It's amazing to me how cougar can still live around here. I have hunted around here for 22 years, and I have lived here for 40 years. This is the first Cougar I have ever seen.

It was around 11:00 a.m. on 03/25/10 when I spotted a light yellow large animal at the bottom of the hill roughly 30 feet from my home.

At first I thought it was a dog about 4 ft. long and possible weight around 70 lbs. Then I noticed the cat like features. It slowly made its way up the hill and disapeared into the woods.

This is not the first time it has been sighted. A neighbor had spotted the it right before the Christmas holidays.

My neighbors and I have all been on alert for fear of an attack on our children, dogs and horses.

I am originally from Michigan and have only seen a wild cat in a zoo. It was truly a moment that I felt connected to nature.

I have heard many other people say that they have seen cougar in LBL, and in local areas.

This happened around July 12, 2009

It was about 10:30 a.m. and I was about to get a cup of coffee when I noticed what I thought might be a coyote or a new neighborhood dog sitting on it's hind legs about a foot into the fence line. It was huge. It was grayish brown in color and his belly was almost white... much lighter anyway. It appeared to be the size of my daughter's weimariner dog (about 90 -100 pounds). I grabbed the binoculars and saw it was a big cat. It stayed there around 30 -45 seconds turning it's head almost 180 degrees as it surveyed the valley. My neighbor has several horses and it appeared to be looking at them and them back the other way. It never seemed alarmed or concious of my presence in the window. It then stood and walked to the edge of the brush and then into the bush and was gone. It had a long tail and shorter ears.

My brother had visited a few months before and arrived around midnight. He said there was a huge cat that jumped from the creek and ran towards the fence line as he came in. I thought no way.

It was a magnificent creature and a privelege to see...though I think twice about going out without a weapon for any length of time.

I was driving on Hillsboro Road, headed North, just before reaching Grassland approx 6a.m. on my way to work. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a large "cat like" animal to my left in a field approx. 75 yards from the road. The animal was low to the ground, engaged in a stalking stance, as if it had spotted some type of prey. I was completely amazed at what I was witnessing, a very rational person, so I began to question the possibility of could it be a bobcat or coyote?..... knowing full well that this cat was way too big, and had a much different stance. Having grown up on a farm and around avid outdoorsmen all my life, I am very clear that it was not a coyote, a large dog, or a bobcat. (Those were the explanations offered to me after contacting TWRA) I am quite familiar with how those animals appear in the wild. Also, my late father practiced taxidermy as a hobby, and I have seen mounted coyotes and bobcats. This cat WAS NOT either of them. It was approximately 3-4 feet long, large tail, tan with reddish tint to its coat. I was able to pull over quietly, and observe as the cat watched his prey and advanced upon it in a very stealth like manner. I was not aware, or had not ever heard of cougars or any other type of "big cat" in the Franklin area, BUT, I am certain of what I saw....... In fact, I am so confident this cat is a threat to surrounding livestock, I stopped the next day to share my experience with the gentleman that owns cattle within close proximity to my sighting. Perhaps "not a cougar" according to the few people I have shared my story with, however, I am absolutely positive that the "big cat" I saw was definately not one of the above mentioned explanations I was given. Curiously, I researched other sightings in TN, which is what led me to this website. If anyone else has seen this cat on Hillsboro Rd, just before Grassland, pleae share...... You aren't crazy!!

Thanks...

While riding with my daughter who has her permit to drive I sat in passengers seat of our vehicle. I was looking around as usual, and though I saw a very large cat shaped figure sitting in a brushy thicket about 50 feet from the road. I quickly took a second look to see if I truly saw what I thought I saw and confirmed it was a large cat. From my point of reference I would say the sitting figure was about 25 inches tall, much taller than any normal feline in this area. It was tan/light brown in color. I've checked that spot every time I pass it since, but no more cougars to date.

Jeff Roush

While heading towards Memphis a large brown cougar crossed the road in front of my pickup and stopped on left side of the highway. It was in the medium when I first saw it and it passed in front of me before stopping and looking back at the highway.

Brent

Has Cougar like body with tiger like marked ears and striped front legs.

I had actually forgotten about it until this morning. This morning as I was on my way to work what appeared to me to be a baby cougar, kind of furry with spots, ran directly in front of me at almost the same spot that I had seen the deer and the cougar a couple of weeks ago.

I am guessing they are inhabiting a small section of woods in that area.

Susan Henderson

When I first turned on Corrine, I noticed some type of animal running in the same direction I was going. It was running on the pavement. My first initial thought was that I was seeing a deer, but as I got closer I could tell that this was a large cat! It was gray in color and I would estimate it to be about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall with a long curled tail! It was running pretty fast and had a graceful cat-like stride. It was slender with a rounded head. After I saw that this didn't look like something I had seen before, I got out of its way fast! After describing what I had seen to several friends at work, it became obvious that I had seen some type of cougar!

I have seen a bobcat up close on the other end of the property a year ago and my daughter saw the bobcat a few days ago around the same place I saw it. But there was a big difference in size with this cat and it had a long tail.

The cat looked to be between 1/2 and 2/3 grown which lead me to believe that he possibly had been a pet that had been released or had escaped. Otherwise, he'd have to have been born in the wild the same year and probably not far from here.

Brian

I wanted to report a sighting in Gilmer County. I have often heard people say they have seen or heard the creatures, but have had my doubts. I am an avid outdoorsman and hunter, so I am always keenly aware of wildlife in my surroundings both afield, as well as while I am driving the roads of North Georgia.

On Saturday, January 13, 2007 (last week), my friend David Bailey and I were traveling East on Clear Creek road to go check out some property on Burnt Mountain Road. We always use the Evans road short-cut which is just past Clear Creek Church and just across the new concrete bridge over Turkey Creek. The time was approximately 1:00 p.m. and the conditions were overcast with little to no wind, and app. 60 degrees.

As we traveled east on Clear Creek road, I was looking in the fields on the right as we approached Evans road. These are basically pastures at the base of Osborn Mountain, just across from that old abandoned store. In the back of the field, far from the road and next to a little creek drain, I noticed a single animal which I thought to be a deer based on its color and size, standing in the brown grass. I pointed it out to David, who was driving, just as we were about to make the right-hand turn onto Evans Road. As I watched the animal, it suddenly jumped straight up into the air and appeared to pounce on something I could not see, down in the grass. When it jumped, I noticed that it was a cat-like movement (similar to a domestic cat or bobcat playing with something), plus, I noticed it had a very long tail.

Immediately I told David to pull over that I thought I was seeing a Mountain Lion. David eased the truck over to the shoulder of Evans road, and we had a clear view of the animal diagonally across the pasture, we estimated at a range of about 200 yards. Amazingly, David was still hauling around 2 pairs of 10X40 binoculars in his back seat since we were only days past the end of deer season and he hadn’t taken them out of his truck. We were able to stand side by side next to the vehicle, each with a pair of binoculars, and watch the cat for a period we estimate to be 5-8 minutes. The animal pounced numerous times on something we were never able to identify, walked in circles around it, and even laid down completely at one point. Periodically we would whisper to each other making sure that we were seeing the same thing, like “did you just see it jump?” and “it just laid down….you see that?” It was a magnificent moment we will never forget.

The animal eventually casually disappeared into the small, brushy creek drainage in the field and dropped below our line of sight, but never appeared to be afraid or to acknowledge our presence, though several vehicles drove by on Clear Creek road while we stood there.

The cat was tan to reddish tan in color, very similar to a deer’s coloration before it loses its summer coat, while its tail appeared to get darker from base to tip, almost being black at the tip. The backs of its ears were black, with some darker markings and white on its face. The inside of its legs and underbelly were white. Based upon our experience with deer, we estimated the animal’s weight to be 60-80 lbs. In sharing my account, I have encountered at least 2 other stories of recent sightings in a general 5 mile radius of this area by credible individuals

I plan on deploying a trail camera in the location this week to see if I can capture it on film. I am now a believer with a witness who also is, and I am after a photo now to dispel the myth once and for all. I will photographically document any tracks as well as gather a scat sample if I can find one.

Thanks,

Jon D. Jones

In the mountains off route 321 and route 441. Long tail and quite a leaper. Jumped about 12-15 feet to some fallen logs and dissapeared into brush.

It was mid-January, 1980. I had been to visit in Ashland, MS and returning northward up Hwy 18 about 6:30 p.m. In a long desolate stretch just east of Wolf River Bottom, I saw a lone animal amble l-r across the highway approx. 150 yards ahead. It was just on the outer limit of the headlights of my Ford Bronco. I assumed it to be a deer. But it sorta stuck in my mind that the animal looked low to the ground and ran across the road in a rather undulating motion, unlike a deer. But it was about the color of a deer. There was no traffic at all. I slowed to 25 MPH to look closer as I approached the crossing location. The highway right-of-way was well mowed and short out to about 30 feet from the pavement where waist-high grass started. To my surprise, I looked through the windshield right into the eyes of a cougar. It had stopped on the ROW just short of entering the tall grass. The round face, short stubby ears, and long graceful tail with end curled were unmistakeable. It was not a stray dog or coyote. I saw the animal for 4-5 seconds at a distance of 65-75 feet. As I passed, it stood motionless on the upward sloping rise toward the tall grassy area, which put it about eye level with me. There have been other sightings over the years in the same general area, which leads me to believe that the animals are using the Wolf River corridor for east-west movement and crossing 18 Hwy from time to time.

I'll look for scat or any other signs.

Thanks Richard Shaffer Cookeville, TN

http://rosswarner.com/6084.html

At first I thought it was a large lab, but dogs of that size don't roam our neighborhood and it just didn't walk like a dog; something was odd about it. This is very errie to think these animals may live in the woods around us. My husband thought he had seen on in summer, 2005, as well.

We have watched deer come through this same neighbors yard, reach the street and cross to the fields and wooded areas on the other side. Our home backs up to fields with Gum Spring Mountain behind. We have heard and seen the coyotes, but this is the first large cat I've seen and we've been here for 11 years. Simply amazing!

I searched the internet for pictures to confirm that I did indeed see what I thought was a cougar. I found that I had guessed correctly.

Scared her badly. Was mowing back yard, when cougar walked out of woods. Had no fear of her.

I saw a black cat (panther?) years ago in Vale, TN. She never knew to believe me or not. After seeing this cougar in our own back yard, She completely believes me now!

While taking picture with my trail camera on the banks of the Big Sandy River a nice cougar came strolling through around 9:00 am in the morning. Everyone who has viewed the picture has the same look of astonishment.

I’ve always said, “never let a little white lie stand in the way of a good hunting story” so my buddies really wanted to doubt me on this one but Its hard to argue with a digital picture. So anyone who questions there existence I have the next best thing to a live cat.

"Tim, You won't believe what I saw Saturday. I went to the crossville flea market & came home via Bon Air mountain & the biggest cat I've ever seen outside of the zoo crossed the road. It was the size of a german shepard. It was brown & looked like a young cat. Looked like a cougar but do we have cougars around here? Someone at work thought it might be a bobcat but I checked out the net last night for pictures of wildcats & the bobcat has spots so it's not that. I've never seen a wild cat except in a zoo. It was really something to see. Wish I had the time to take a picture."

While working at our farm in Benton County, I observed a large brown/tan colored cat moving from one end of a field into the edge of a clearing. His movement was slow and his tail was down to the ground. He was not startled by my presence or the presence of the machinery I was using.

A few days later, (June 4, 2005), Brent(my middle son), and I were walking in that same area and located several very large cat tracks. I know these tracks where fresh, since it had rained the night before and you could see where the cat had slipped on a hill side. We both have seen Bobcats and Bobcats tracks, and know these tracks were not made by a large bobcat since they were about 2 times the size of a Bobcat's track.

It was located in Davies Plantation on the gas pipeline between Bartlett and Lakeland.

She told me she had seen an animal that was sitting near the baseball (not in use at the time). She thought that it was a small deer at first, but as she approached it, it ran off like a cat. She said it was small but bigger than a domestic cat. It has a long thick tail. She thought it was a light grey in color but is not sure because it was getting dark.

About two weeks later, on or around Aug. 19, I was back at the park, just with Jake this time. It already dark, between 8:30 and 9:00. At a location close to where my daughter had seen the animal 2 weeks previous, I saw a cat that was definitely not a house cat. [I did not know at the time that this was the same location she saw the animal. I quizzed her in more detail after I saw what might have been the same animal.] I wanted to get close to it to have a good look. Jake did not see it at first. I pointed towards the animal and told Jake to “get it”. He is not terribly well trained but he was savvy and started in that direction. I ran in a circular path towards the direction of a thicket of trees on the east side of the park trying to put the cat in between Jake and me. I figured it would go for the trees as they were the best cover. As Jake finally caught sight (or scent) of the animal, he took off at full throttle. The cat headed towards the trees in an east by north direction and beat me by a long distance. Jake followed it into the trees, but lost it. I called him back because I didn’t want him to get torn up if he was able to get near it. It was too dark for me to try to look for it in the thicket. It was dark, but I believe that the cat was a grey color. It wasn’t big, just a little larger than a house cat. Its tail was long and thick. It was thickest at the end.

Approaching an overpass, I noticed, at the very last second as I passed, a large dark "dog" eating something small on the side of the road. It looked up at my car as I passed; and I thought it looked almost hyena-like, because of a very short snout. Curious, I turned around at my first opportunity. I approached slowly, as to not disturb it. When my headlights leveled at it, it looked up, and kind of raised up on it's back haunches (envision a house cat, crouched over a milk bowl, that raises up, front paws barely scraping the ground, with it's weight on its rear legs and rear end). It stared at the headlights momentarily, then leveled into an all-out sprint for appx. 150 yds. alongside the road, on the berm. I sped up to follow, DIRECTLY off of his right right side (like a wingman in a flight formation). I was doing about 25mph. At this point, I still was unclear as to what I was seeing. It then veered off the road at a driveway/field entrance, and I followed into the head of the driveway and stopped. At this angle, my headlights were directly behind it, and I got my first definitive view of what was unmistakably a BIG cat. The action of the rear legs (almost a rabbit-like cadence) and the long loping tail were the obvious indicators.

I estimate it as appx 75-100 lbs, body length of maybe 3-1/2 to 4 feet, with a tail of maybe 2-3 feet. If the animal was the tan/brown color that I normally associate with a cougar, I would have identified it at first glance. However, it was a VERY dark brown (almost black) with only the slightest "hue" of red (perhaps it was black with the red hue, making it "brown").

The short snout and perked ears, the posture when it looked up at me, the very low profile in the GRACEFUL sprint,the cadence of the run, the length of the stride, the loping tail: I know what I saw, and I saw a cougar.

Oh, as it ran, both back legs and both front legs were together. I don't think dogs run that way but I could be mistaken.

You can check out the following:

My next-door neighbor's colt was attacked by a cougar about 8 years ago.

A Rossville policeman told me that numerous cougars have been spotted near the big red barn on Highway 57.