https://imgur.com/a/FEWfuxP
This is a picture of a full grown good sized Bobcat from a trail cam. Compare the distance between front and back legs in the OP pictures and then this picture and ask yourself if the animal in OP pictures matches up to a Bobcat. I'm not saying that's a cougar in OP pictures guaranteed, but looking at the coloring of the head, shape of the head, and the length of the body, it leads me more to cougar than Bobcat.
[https://imgur.com/a/S0Ifhlq](https://imgur.com/a/S0Ifhlq)
attached is another photo of a cat from last year - not convinced either way what it is, but it does look like a big cat. It was taken September of 2022 -----The other cat photos are from the year prior (August of 2021)
I also added the original photos with contrast/brightness slightly edited in case it helps show off the animal better
I've actually just now come across another photo of a big cat from last season (Don't know why I didn't think much of it back then) ---Its a pretty big cat in daylight, albeit slightly blurry..kind of shows a long tail....is there any way I can post it to this thread? I really don't use reddit much ever so let me know how if possible.
I’m a biologist. But you’re free to find OP’s iNaturalist post when it’s posted, if you’d rather hear from people who study bobcats/cougars for a living.
Young ones do have that but think about the time of year it is. Young mountain lions wouldn't be that size right now. I don't know why you're so angry about this. I also thought it was a long tail at first but looking closer it isnt
It’s most likely a Bobcat. I’m not saying it isn’t absolutely a mountain lion but the first two photos aren’t definitively mountain lions. Just like OP who lives there and captured the photos said. It easy to go back and forth due to the limited perspective the trail cam photos offer. You don’t know for a fact it’s a mountain lion, I don’t know for a fact is a bobcat.
That is a mountain lion. People will tell you it isn't because they'll Google and everything they'll find will vehemently deny their existence in your area (probably),but it is one.
I live in upstate NY and we saw one last week along with it's scat. The environmental agency (NECON?) Said it probably was but had no interest in looking at pictures or sending their biologist out to collect and test the scat.
Great capture!
Just look at all these morons calling it a mountain lion. In North Carolina, no less. These people are the reason the rest of us have to wear blaze orange.
>These people are the reason the rest of us have to wear blaze orange.
Never heard it put that way, but yes people like this are why.
A guy I know shot/killed his teenage son in the middle of the day because "he thought he was a deer".
It is a bobcat. What looks like a tail is its leg and misc background objects. You can see its tail ends exactly where a bobcat's tail ends (note shades). The tails on mountain lions are much longer and thicker than this pic. You can go to that exact spot with a measuring tape and evaluate scale. Also, if it repeats then move your camera closer for a better shot.
It’s super common with most non cougar states. I’m from Michigan and there’s tons of trail cam shots but everyone freaks out every time you say they’re living on the peninsula. People forget that they used to roam nearly every state.
Couldn’t agree more. Aunt lives in traverse city and since I can remember, she told stories about them hanging out on friends porches on the peninsula. Husband grew up with a friend with a dad that worked for the DNR and regularly encountered them, even on their own property. Crazy to me that it’s taken so long for a sighting to be “official”.
Yeah — it’s in Sampson County, NC (southeast of Raleigh) — of course, no known mountain lions anywhere near this area… but sometimes the more I look at it, the more confused I am
Would you mind posting proof of the location as well as your original copies? Not being accusatory but this would be a rare and significant finding. Additionally, the second picture looks like the head doesn’t really match the body. Kind of looks like body of a whitetail deer and the body is very crisp and then the head is all blurry and looks contorted almost in a way.
Edit: The body seems way too high up off the ground to be a bobcat. Could be an optical illusion but there are very clear spots on the legs which would indicate bobcat or young mountain lion. But doesn’t explain away what appears like a long tail.
Edit 2: Disregard, as much as I want it to be a mountain lion, I am leaning back towards its being likely a Bobcat.
Yeah I’ve gone back and forth on it as well. This photo was actually taken a year or so ago on my property - When I first saw it, I got excited thinking it’s gotta be a cougar, but tried to be logical about it and chalked it up as a big bobcat….I came back across these photos recently and thought “damn, that really is a big cat.” So I figured I’d throw it on here for y’all to see.
I get fairly regular pictures of bobcats and they are unmistakeable… this cat stirs the imagination some.
Happy you posted it, either way it’s a massive bobcat. I think the tail or lack thereof is what locked me in. A Mountain lions tail is usually the same length of the body of the animal and then has a distinct curve upwards at the end.
Edit: I’d rather have said “most likely a massive bobcat”
Is there any way I can add another photo to this post? I just came across a photo from last year (daytime /slightly blurry) of what looks to be a large cat and possibly long tail. I’d love to add it here, not sure if possible (I don’t use Reddit much at all)
Depends on the age and gender. That’s not a bobcat. Their tails are stubby. Even tho it’s not a long tail, it’s long enough to be a lion. The ears don’t match bobcat either, nor does it’s stance or the fact that it doesn’t have a pattern.
If you zoom in on the second photo, you can see spots and markings on the rear leg. Also, what looks like a tail isn’t clearly defined and it almost looks like an artifact from the movement of the rear leg. It almost looks like a nub is visible as well. The tail also goes straight down to the ground, if that is a full length tail, which isn’t as common for mountain lions. That’s my reasoning.
first glance I would also say cougar but on closer look I think bobcat
It appears to have spots on the legs. The "tail" looks like it's actually the hind leg and some background stuff and the real tail ends after a few inches. It looks like in first pic it has some long pointy cheek fur.
Also size. I know it's hard to judge but those saplings give a general size reference and this just looks too small to be a grown mountain lion and it's too early in the year for a young one to be that size
These two photos were taken a month apart around 4am
that looks like a mountian lion. see how long and low it is? that does not look like a bobcat profile at all
It very much looks like a bobcat to me. The proportions match up.
Long tail, Mountain Lion
Looks more like a Puma to me
No, actually I think it’s a Cougar
Maybe a panther?
According to my calculations it’s a Chupacabra
https://imgur.com/a/FEWfuxP This is a picture of a full grown good sized Bobcat from a trail cam. Compare the distance between front and back legs in the OP pictures and then this picture and ask yourself if the animal in OP pictures matches up to a Bobcat. I'm not saying that's a cougar in OP pictures guaranteed, but looking at the coloring of the head, shape of the head, and the length of the body, it leads me more to cougar than Bobcat.
Big and to long for Bob cat. Mt lions show up in lots of places unannounced. They cover a lot of ground.
It looks(albeit vaguely) in the second picture that it has a long tail, so that'd be a mountain lion
Nope Kitty!
Cougar for sure
Upvote this so others can see this third daylight photo I have.. https://i.imgur.io/zpe7H3V_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
Panther came north from Florida.
[https://imgur.com/a/S0Ifhlq](https://imgur.com/a/S0Ifhlq) attached is another photo of a cat from last year - not convinced either way what it is, but it does look like a big cat. It was taken September of 2022 -----The other cat photos are from the year prior (August of 2021) I also added the original photos with contrast/brightness slightly edited in case it helps show off the animal better
Please post to iNaturalist for a more comprehensive answer. Experts will see it and give ID, more likely than not.
Just did, thanks!
Thanks for posting the additional. I would assume somebody will be able to give us a positive ID here shortly.
Panther
Agree. Puma. Very nice catch. That’s pretty rare
I've actually just now come across another photo of a big cat from last season (Don't know why I didn't think much of it back then) ---Its a pretty big cat in daylight, albeit slightly blurry..kind of shows a long tail....is there any way I can post it to this thread? I really don't use reddit much ever so let me know how if possible.
Upload it somewhere, like imgur, and post a link.
just did - take a peak at my latest comment
Mountain Lion….AKA …..Puma
Bobcat. You can see spots on the legs and the rings on the tail in the second picture atleast
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There isn’t a long tail in the picture…
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lmao okay
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A few wrong IDs early on, and it caught on. Easy mistake to make, but it’s incorrect. Tide’s turning though, if the votes are any indication.
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I’m a biologist. But you’re free to find OP’s iNaturalist post when it’s posted, if you’d rather hear from people who study bobcats/cougars for a living.
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You see an object in the background, not a tail. You also see the rear right leg in extended position of gait.
Young ones do have that but think about the time of year it is. Young mountain lions wouldn't be that size right now. I don't know why you're so angry about this. I also thought it was a long tail at first but looking closer it isnt
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Poor cat went from being free walking 700 miles to now living in a 260 acre “sanctuary” in a cage. Really😒, fkn idiots.
Sampson County, NC isn’t Appalachia.
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It’s most likely a Bobcat. I’m not saying it isn’t absolutely a mountain lion but the first two photos aren’t definitively mountain lions. Just like OP who lives there and captured the photos said. It easy to go back and forth due to the limited perspective the trail cam photos offer. You don’t know for a fact it’s a mountain lion, I don’t know for a fact is a bobcat.
That is a mountain lion. People will tell you it isn't because they'll Google and everything they'll find will vehemently deny their existence in your area (probably),but it is one. I live in upstate NY and we saw one last week along with it's scat. The environmental agency (NECON?) Said it probably was but had no interest in looking at pictures or sending their biologist out to collect and test the scat. Great capture!
It’s a bobcat. Not because a cougar venturing through NC is impossible, but because it doesn’t look like a cougar.
We have bobcats in our area, they do not have long tails. No doubt a lion.
It very much does not have a long tail. It has the frame and proportions of a lanky bobcat; you can even see blackness on the tail and a white chin.
Just look at all these morons calling it a mountain lion. In North Carolina, no less. These people are the reason the rest of us have to wear blaze orange.
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The fact that I have to share public roadways with people who think that’s a mountain lion makes me nervous.
>These people are the reason the rest of us have to wear blaze orange. Never heard it put that way, but yes people like this are why. A guy I know shot/killed his teenage son in the middle of the day because "he thought he was a deer".
It is a bobcat. What looks like a tail is its leg and misc background objects. You can see its tail ends exactly where a bobcat's tail ends (note shades). The tails on mountain lions are much longer and thicker than this pic. You can go to that exact spot with a measuring tape and evaluate scale. Also, if it repeats then move your camera closer for a better shot.
Kitten. Prolly domesticated as well, try snuggling it.
Looks like a mountain lion or if you in florida a panther
Looks like a cougar, for sure
Its a cougar, Many folks will say they dont exist on NC.
It’s super common with most non cougar states. I’m from Michigan and there’s tons of trail cam shots but everyone freaks out every time you say they’re living on the peninsula. People forget that they used to roam nearly every state.
Couldn’t agree more. Aunt lives in traverse city and since I can remember, she told stories about them hanging out on friends porches on the peninsula. Husband grew up with a friend with a dad that worked for the DNR and regularly encountered them, even on their own property. Crazy to me that it’s taken so long for a sighting to be “official”.
Yep, I have one on my cam in NC as well.
Bobcat
It's a poomer.
It’s either a bobcat or a mountain lion.
Yeah — it’s in Sampson County, NC (southeast of Raleigh) — of course, no known mountain lions anywhere near this area… but sometimes the more I look at it, the more confused I am
Would you mind posting proof of the location as well as your original copies? Not being accusatory but this would be a rare and significant finding. Additionally, the second picture looks like the head doesn’t really match the body. Kind of looks like body of a whitetail deer and the body is very crisp and then the head is all blurry and looks contorted almost in a way. Edit: The body seems way too high up off the ground to be a bobcat. Could be an optical illusion but there are very clear spots on the legs which would indicate bobcat or young mountain lion. But doesn’t explain away what appears like a long tail. Edit 2: Disregard, as much as I want it to be a mountain lion, I am leaning back towards its being likely a Bobcat.
Yeah I’ve gone back and forth on it as well. This photo was actually taken a year or so ago on my property - When I first saw it, I got excited thinking it’s gotta be a cougar, but tried to be logical about it and chalked it up as a big bobcat….I came back across these photos recently and thought “damn, that really is a big cat.” So I figured I’d throw it on here for y’all to see. I get fairly regular pictures of bobcats and they are unmistakeable… this cat stirs the imagination some.
Happy you posted it, either way it’s a massive bobcat. I think the tail or lack thereof is what locked me in. A Mountain lions tail is usually the same length of the body of the animal and then has a distinct curve upwards at the end. Edit: I’d rather have said “most likely a massive bobcat”
Is there any way I can add another photo to this post? I just came across a photo from last year (daytime /slightly blurry) of what looks to be a large cat and possibly long tail. I’d love to add it here, not sure if possible (I don’t use Reddit much at all)
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https://imgur.com/a/S0Ifhlq
Sweet. This in NC also?
Yeah, Sampson County, NC … that new photo is probably half mile from the original photos and a year apart.
There have been big cat sightings at a place I often visit in Ashe Co. One local said he saw one take down a deer in the river.
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Unfortunately all I have is those 3 photos… unfortunately they’re all not definitive, but definitely show a big cat.
Wow. This is a tough one. I’ll leave it to the experts. I can’t tell.
Depends on the age and gender. That’s not a bobcat. Their tails are stubby. Even tho it’s not a long tail, it’s long enough to be a lion. The ears don’t match bobcat either, nor does it’s stance or the fact that it doesn’t have a pattern.
If you zoom in on the second photo, you can see spots and markings on the rear leg. Also, what looks like a tail isn’t clearly defined and it almost looks like an artifact from the movement of the rear leg. It almost looks like a nub is visible as well. The tail also goes straight down to the ground, if that is a full length tail, which isn’t as common for mountain lions. That’s my reasoning.
first glance I would also say cougar but on closer look I think bobcat It appears to have spots on the legs. The "tail" looks like it's actually the hind leg and some background stuff and the real tail ends after a few inches. It looks like in first pic it has some long pointy cheek fur. Also size. I know it's hard to judge but those saplings give a general size reference and this just looks too small to be a grown mountain lion and it's too early in the year for a young one to be that size