Did anyone else see a big black cat near the Blue Ridge Parkway last weekend?

Not my area at all (I'm in Wiltshire, bit far from the Blue Ridge!) but big black cat sightings genuinely fascinate me. We get them here too, the so-called "British big cats" and I've spent a fair bit of time out on the downs looking for evidence - tracks, kills, that sort of thing. Never seen one myself but the witness accounts are pretty consistent year after year.

What struck me about your post is the colour. Black is actually one of the more commonly reported colours worldwide, which is interesting because melanistic big cats aren't that common in the wild populations people think are the source of these animals. Makes you wonder if theres something else going on entirely.

Would love to hear more detail from whoever saw it. Distance, time of day, how long you had eyes on it, rough size comparison to anything nearby. The more specific the better. These things are so easy to dismiss without solid detail behind them.

@Gezza same, the British big cat thing is proper interesting. Essex has had a few reported sightings over the years and the evidence pattern is weirdly consistent with what gets reported in the US - large black felid, moves at dusk, gone before anyone can get a decent photo. Whether its escapees from private collections or something else entirely I dont know but the sheer volume of credible witness accounts makes it hard to just dismiss.

Nottinghamshire has had a handful of sightings too over the years, so this stuff genuinely hits close to home for me. @Gezza welcome to the forum by the way, great first thread even if the Blue Ridge is a bit out of your patch! The cross-referencing between American and British big cat reports is actually worth doing - theres more overlap in witness descriptions than people realise.