No doubt! I just saw my second panther!

By Kevin Rideout Sr.

PAMLICO COUNTY – I know for a fact they live around here. I have lived in Craven County for 38 years and I am a very avid fisherman. In 1984, while fishing was back in Cahougee Creek, a friend and I were bass fishing. While trolling in the boat, we came around a sharp bend and about 60 years in front of us there was solid black cat swimming across the creek.

I knew it was a panther right off the bat by its head size – at least the size of a soccer ball. That was the first time.

In 2002, on River Road in Pamlico County, I was driving to Dawson Creek on a cool November morning to go trout fishing. Right after crossing the bridge over the back of Goose Creek,  I saw – coming from the left side of the road and crossing to the right – a black cat the size of a small kid’s bike. The animal trotted into the woods. There was no doubt that I just saw my second panther sighting. They do exist in eastern North Carolina.