There is an owl that sounds like a woman screaming, too. I have heardFor sure they are in the Appalachians. I saw one in 1978 on Loft Mountain (about halfway up VA) when we were hiking the AT. It was no fleeting glance, we stared at each other, equally surprised, for probably 30 seconds and it was for sure a big male mountain lion. We reported it when we came off the AT, and everyone in Forest Service, park rangers, etc, all stated no lions in the region, but finally, a few years later, someone got a good shot (camera) of one only about 10 miles south of there, and after that there were several sightings in that region. Plus which there have at least since 1967 that I'm aware of, occasional reports all up and down the range of big cats.
it myself on occasion. There is also a fox cry that sounds freaky like
that.
I firmly believe that the Appalachians are sufficiently remote enough to
support a carnivorous species like a panther. It did once. If even a
small population survived in an enclave somewhere, with the reduction in
hunting and the urbanization of modern American life, I think it is
highly possible that there are indeed species like mountain lions making
a comeback, and that they are glimpsed every so often.
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