A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. Bryson City is about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Asheville.
It’s not clear if the feline slipped from the eagle’s talons Wednesday morning or was discarded simply because the big bird didn’t have a taste for it.
鈥淵ou may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,鈥� the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call. 鈥淚t absolutely shattered my windshield.鈥�
Any reservations about calling in such a story were put to rest when the dispatcher calmly responded, 鈥淥K. I do believe you, honestly,” then laughed.
The driver relayed that another person also saw the cat drop, remarking, “He’s like, 鈥楾hat is the craziest thing I鈥檝e ever seen.’ I’m like, 鈥楻eally?鈥欌��
The dispatcher offered some assurance, saying, 鈥淥h my goodness. Let’s see. I’ve heard crazier.”
鈥淲ell, that’s terrifying,” the caller said, to which the dispatcher replied with more nervous laughter, 鈥淵eah.鈥�
After getting the driver’s location, the dispatcher said she would send the Highway Patrol to do a report. 鈥淎nother question,鈥� the dispatcher asked. 鈥淚s the cat still alive?鈥�
The caller said it wasn’t, but noted that the cat was on the side of the road and not in her car.
鈥淥k, I have to ask just to make sure,鈥� the dispatcher said.
Kendrick Weeks, Western Wildlife Diversity Program supervisor for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, said the cat dropped on the car could have been roadkill scavenged by the eagle.
鈥淏ut they can take animals the size of a cat,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is much harder for them to take a live cat than a dead cat. They usually don鈥檛 prey on something they don鈥檛 find palatable. And, scavenging is a common behavior in bald eagles.鈥�
Eagles and other raptors can drop prey for several reasons, including having a poor grip or if the prey is struggling and the birds are trying to prevent injury to themselves, Weeks added.
Prey can also be dropped if a raptor is being harassed by another raptor or the prey becomes too heavy to continue carrying.
Bald eagles are native to North Carolina and most of North America.
Their populations have been increasing, and there are more than 200 nesting pairs in North Carolina. The birds can weigh anywhere from 6 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds (3 kilograms to 6.3 kilograms) and have wingspans of 6 to 7 feet (1.8 meters to 2.1 meters), Weeks told The Associated Press.
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