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A driver in western North Carolina narrowly avoided injury after a cat carcass smashed into the passenger side of her car’s windscreen. The bizarre incident occurred on a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The unidentified driver, travelling on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, informed a 911 dispatcher that a bald eagle had dropped the feline. Bryson City is located approximately 65 miles (104 kilometres) southwest of Asheville. It remains unclear whether the cat slipped from the eagle’s talons on Wednesday morning or was simply discarded by the bird.
“You may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,” the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call. “It absolutely shattered my windshield.”
Any reservations about calling in such a story were put to rest when the dispatcher calmly responded, “OK. I do believe you, honestly,” then laughed.
The driver relayed that another person also saw the cat drop, remarking, “He’s like, ‘That is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’”
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A bald eagle soars past a tree with fall foliage leaves changing colors at Adams Pond, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in East Derry, N.H (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The dispatcher offered some assurance, saying, “Oh my goodness. Let’s see. I’ve heard crazier.”
“Well, that’s terrifying,” 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 do a report. “Another question,” the dispatcher asked. “Is the cat still alive?”
The caller said it wasn’t, but noted that the cat was on the side of the road and not in her car.
“Ok, I have to ask just to make sure,” 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.
“But they can take animals the size of a cat,” he said. “It is much harder for them to take a live cat than a dead cat. They usually don’t prey on something they don’t find palatable. And, scavenging is a common behavior in bald eagles.”
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.