I saw a Parkway cougar

After reading the article [July 28: "Im-paws-ible? Vet sees 'cougar' on Parkway"], I offer my own account.

I lived in a remote cottage above milepost Two on the Blue Ridge Parkway from 1979 to 1989 and ran daily on the Parkway. Over the years while running, I saw bears, bobcats, rattlesnakes, skunks, deer, and a mountain lion.

One afternoon in August 1984, an animal suddenly appeared on the left shoulder of the Parkway about 75 yards in front of me. The next moment, it was in the middle of the road. I immediately stopped and stood and watched. In an instant, it leaped off the road into the brush on the right and was gone.

The image of its long tail disappearing from view still lingers. I raced ahead hoping to see some physical evidence, but found none. I wish friends had been along on that run because it was a remarkable sight to be shared: unmistakably a mountain lion.

Bill Guerrant
Batesville