Posted on 11/21/2025 9:34:50 AM PST by crusty old prospector
A driver in North Carolina told emergency responders that a bald eagle dropped a cat that crashed through her windshield, police said.
The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, North Carolina Highway Patrol said. The driver was not injured.
Highway patrol did not provide additional information.
A photo shared by officials showed the car's broken windshield with a massive hole.
In a 911 call, obtained by WLOS-TV, the driver told the dispatcher that the cat did not survive.
"OK, you may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield," the 911 call said, according to WLOS. "It absolutely shattered my windshield."
"I had a witness who was like, 'That is the craziest thing I've ever seen,'" the caller added.
Bald eagles are predatory birds that can stand up to 3 feet tall and have a wingspan stretching more than 8 feet. They weigh between 8 to 14 pounds and can typically carry things between 3 to 5 pounds.
Domestic cats are about 2 feet long and weigh between 5 to 20 pounds. While bald eagles can carry smaller cats, they are not a common prey for the bird.
In 2019, a large catfish crashed through a woman's windshield in North Carolina after reportedly getting dropped by a flying bird.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Maybe the windshield was already compromised and cracked. Who knows? It sounds fishy.
Great song!
“Clearly, the cat let the eagle go when he got too high. Actual truth: The car killed the cat OR the cat was already dead before the eagle let go. Cats can survive being dropped at any height. The terminal velocity of a cat which is able to right itself is slow enough that cats can fall from any height and, with a little luck, remain uscathed.”
This has been proven empirically? Any height?
I would like to see this presentation at the Science Fair.
I witnessed a cat thrown off the top of a grain elevator, over 100 feet. Cat did land on feet but impact broke its legs and probably ribs. It survived for a bit, poor thing.
It was awesome! I got an a.
I moved 5 months ago. There are no houses across the street, there’s serious elevation change to a ridge line that goes up about 200’ or more, all wooded. There’s a bald eagle nest up there.
Sometimes if a dog gets up and makes me take her out front in the middle of the night, I’ll get a BE squawk from up the ridge. It’s disconcerting even to a human at 2AM!
+1 for the FZ reference. Great album.
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