Additional Coverage:
- ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,’ North Carolina driver tells 911 (nbcnews.com)
Feathers and Felines: Eagle Drops Cat Carcass, Shatters Windshield in Smoky Mountains Incident
BRYSON CITY, NC – A driver near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park experienced a truly wild Wednesday morning when a bald eagle dropped a cat carcass onto her moving car, shattering the passenger side of her windshield. Miraculously, the motorist escaped injury in the bizarre incident.
The unidentified driver, traveling on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, made a memorable call to 911.
“You may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,” she told a dispatcher, her voice laced with incredulity. “It absolutely shattered my windshield.”
The dispatcher, maintaining a remarkable calm, responded, “OK. I do believe you, honestly,” followed by a chuckle. The driver recounted that another witness to the aerial feline drop echoed her sentiments, calling it “the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The 911 exchange continued with the dispatcher offering reassurance, “Oh my goodness. Let’s see.
I’ve heard crazier.” When asked if the cat was still alive, the caller confirmed it was not, adding that the carcass was now on the side of the road, not in her car.
While the exact reason for the eagle’s unexpected delivery remains unclear – whether it was a fumbled grip or a discarded meal – experts offer some insight. Kendrick Weeks, Western Wildlife Diversity Program supervisor for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, suggested the cat could have been roadkill scavenged by the eagle.
“They can take animals the size of a cat,” Weeks explained, though he noted that preying on a live cat is much more difficult for an eagle than scavenging a dead one. He added that eagles, like other raptors, can drop prey for various reasons, including a poor grip, a struggling animal, harassment from other birds, or if the prey becomes too heavy.
Bald eagles are a native species to North Carolina, and their populations have been on the rise, with over 200 nesting pairs now in the state. These majestic birds can weigh between 6.5 and 13.5 pounds and boast wingspans of 6 to 7 feet. While their presence is a welcome sign of ecological recovery, this particular incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of wildlife.