The Panther Project

Hello Mr . Coffey, I live in the Broad  River area near Black Mountain North Carolina.  Within the past 10 years I have seen a dark panther cross in front of my car in the late afternoon on Crooked Creek Road. About five or six years ago a panther attacked and carried off a small doe that I had been watching all summer. I live on my grandparents property and when they were alive we had an encounter with a panther that came very close to the house and got our barn cat. I know all of the claims that they are extinct and they don’t live here anymore. They are wrong. Whether they have migrated here from Florida or been released by people who had them captive we do have them.  My horse vet told me around the time that we were hearing them … yes it’s a hair raising sound, To make sure I vary the times I went to the barn. He told me they would watch for me if I kept her regular schedule.  That was pretty creepy since I was feeding it 5:30 in the morning. I also have a neighbor who u

  On the Blue Ridge (near Aho, Watauga County) in the section known as The Laurel is a large overhanging rock known as the Josh Rock. About 1840 or later, Joshua Story was hunting in this section and was overtaken by night and a dense fog. He took up camp under this rock and made a fire. No sooner was this done than he heard the scream of a panther in the nearby thicket. This animal kept him on the alert throughout the night. When his fire would burn low, the panther would come on the top of the rock so close that it would knock off the dry leaves on him. He could often hear it pat its tail on the rock as it would crouch near the cliff edge. When the fire was made to burn brighter, the animal would move away for some distance.

  Mr. Coffee, I saw your ad on Ray’s weather channel… I also live between Boone and Blowing Rock, just below the reservoir off Winker’s Creek Rd. My father talked about driving through Cone Forest (Flannery Fork Rd.) in the 1970’s late one night and seeing a mountain lion leap across the road in front of his truck. There was a lot less traffic through the park back then and the road was much more narrow. Although a neighbor of ours at the time was a forest ranger and said that there were no mountain lions left in these mountains, dad insisted he saw one that night. My father was an honest man and not a man to exaggerate, so I believe him. Good luck with your collection of stories. Cheryl M. Smith