DATE:             Fall 1981
 

TIME:               Late evening just after sun down
 

LOCATION:     Morgantown/Dayton, Tennessee
                         Rhea County
 

TERRAIN:      Small town, surrounded by hills/woods
 
 

OBSERVED:    Mountain lion.  Have seen several lions in New Mexico mountians,
also in Wyoming.  Cat left muddy foot prints on the hood of my pickup truck.
Footprints were seen by several others.   Haven't figured out who the experts
who say the eastern lion is gone are.  Folks around there and where I live
now see them every so often.

There is a lot of open country in East TN, Western NC thousands of acres of
forest etc .   Black bears are more common in this area than area reported.
I guess you have to be an expert hired by some goverment agency before
you know what you are looking at.   Ask wildlife agents in Middle/ East TN area .
They get reports, but most times ignore them because they haven't seen any
lions, etc.   They are the experts we are just dumb hill folks.
 

ACTIVITIES OF WITNESS(ES):   Reading book .  Felt and heard somthing on porch. Looked out the window and saw it.   It was maybe 4 ft from the window on the hood of my truck.  The truck was dark reddish brown.   Made a good background.
 
 

DESCRIPTION OF CREATURE:   Mountian lion, approx. 6 ft long, including tail. Was mixed  brown/tan and gray.   Black/white around mouth.  Have heard large cats squalling in the hills several times.   Most recent was this spring here in
White County,  TN.
 

OTHER NOTES:     Muddy tracks on a board, as well as PU truck
 

OTHER OTHER NOTES:    Reading book.   Felt and heard somthing on porch looked
out the window and saw it.   It was maybe 4 ft from the window on the hood of my
truck.  The truck was dark reddish brown.   Made a good background.
 
 

OTHER SIGHTINGS IN THIS AREA?:   Would like to add to this report another mountain lion sighting in Overton County near Pleasant Ridge Community in Overton County, TN, which is not too far away from White County in the Winter of 1981.  It was told to me by a very reliable eyewitness, a mountain man who has hunted since a child.  He was going to work very early in the morning, said about 3:30 A.M.  He had his headlights on and a western brown mountain cougar crossed the road in front of him.  He was amazed at what he saw.  I also have on file several black mountain panthers seen, smaller than the brown cougar coming from Fentress County, Scott County, Putnam County, Overton County, Cumberland County, Pickett County Tennessee.  A group of hunters from Kentucky, McCreary County had crossed over into Scott County TN and saw two black panthers while deer hunting in the early 1980's.  If anyone is interested in hunting for the black panthers in Putnam County TN with CAMERAS only, please get in touch with Mary Green by e-mailing me at bigfootlady@citlink.net.