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A driver in western North Carolina narrowly escaped injury when a cat carcass hit the passenger side of his car’s windscreen. This strange incident happened on a highway near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
The unidentified driver traveling on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County near Bryson City informed a 911 dispatcher that a bald eagle had dropped the kittens. Bryson City is located about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Asheville. It is unclear whether the cat slipped from the eagle’s talons on Wednesday morning or was abandoned by the bird.
“You might not believe me, but a bald eagle dropped a cat on my windshield,” the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call. “It completely shattered my windshield.”
Any reservations about calling in such a story were quelled when the dispatcher calmly replied, “Okay. Honestly, I believe you,” then laughed.
The driver reported that another person also saw the cat fall, commenting, “He’s like, ‘This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Really?'”
The dispatcher offered some reassurance, saying, “Oh my God. Let’s see. I’ve heard some crazy stuff.”
“Well, that’s terrible,” the caller said, to which the dispatcher replied with more nervous laughter, “Yeah.”
After getting the driver’s location, the dispatcher said she would send the highway patrol to report. “One more question,” the dispatcher asked. “Is the cat still alive?”
The caller said that was not the case, but noted that the cat was on the side of the road and not in her car.
“Okay, I have to ask to make sure,” the dispatcher said.
Kendrick Weeks, Western Wildlife Diversity Program Supervisor North Carolina The Wildlife Resources Commission said the cat that fell on the car may have been killed by an eagle on the road.
“But they can take cat-sized animals,” he said. “It’s a lot harder for them to take a live cat than a dead cat. They usually don’t do that.” Hunt On something that doesn’t interest them. And, scavenging is a common behavior in bald eagles.
Eagles and other raptors may drop prey for a variety of reasons, Weeks said, including a poor grip or the prey struggling and the birds trying to protect themselves from injury.
Hunt If a predatory animal is being harassed by another predatory animal or the prey becomes too heavy to continue carrying, it may also be released.
Bald eagles are native to North Carolina and most of North America,
Their population is increasing, and there are more than 200 nesting pairs in North Carolina. Weeks told The Associated Press that the birds can weigh 6 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds (3 kg to 6.3 kg) and have a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet (1.8 m to 2.1 m).