View Full Version : Mountain Lion Encounter..."where's my gun."
Runs up on mamma / babies & This goes on for 5mins...finally finds a rock.
I don't do FB but was able to see it...LOTSA NSFW language as you can imagine.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1637374429908597/permalink/2652179271761436/?sfnsn=mo
That was crazy!
I spend a LOT of time hunting, hiking, and camping in the mountains here in Utah, and always carry a Glock 20. The 1 time i didn't, i came face to face with a mountain lion.
It was opening morning of the muzzleloader deer hunt years ago, and i was hiking up a pipeline trail alone, and i had my muzzleloader strapped to my backpack unloaded, because it was still 3 hours before light. I had a long hike in, so i had left my pistol at camp to save weight (bad idea). It was a really bright moon, so i could see well, and out of the bushes steps a very big mountain lion onto the trail 20 yards in front of me. I had no pistol, my knife was in my pack, and my muzzleloader was unloaded and strapped to my pack on my back. I was literally defenseless. I picked up a decent sized rock, and the lion stood there looking at me for probably 30 seconds (seemed like an eternity), and then slowly crept into the bushes on the other side of the trail. I hurried and loaded my muzzleloader and got my knife out, just in case, and waited 20 minutes. When i didn't see the cat again, i kept going, very alert with my gun at the low ready. I never saw the mountain lion again, and luckily it wasn't feeling froggy, or i would have been in a bad spot. I ended up killing a great buck that morning, so i was glad i kept going!
Grand58742
10-12-20, 10:50
I like when he's growling at it and it's like "yeah, nah."
ETA: 3:10 "Gosh, where's my gun?" made me lol
Not where you needed it...
Awesome! [emoji1787][emoji75]
And yet he never puts that phone down for the 15 mins of fame. If a big cat, bear etc is coming at me, last thing on my mind will be getting it on vid. I don't fathom the mentality. Guy in NJ filmed himself getting eaten by a bear a few years ago too. Trip and fall while walking backward focused on getting those FB clicks, and kitty will be on you in a second. Hiking in places with animals, you do so with an ability to defend yourself. That's why humans are the apex predators. I never hike in nature minus a tool of defense of some sort, preferably one that goes bang.
eightmillimeter
10-12-20, 11:04
That is a very tough situation. Of course most of the comments are along the lines of “should have had a gun” .... most encounters do end by slowly backing up, yelling, extending arms etc. encounters with mommas and young cubs are rare, they usually hide better. Very bad timing for this guy. One trip backwards walking up that hill and she’s got him.
grizzlyblake
10-12-20, 11:11
I guess I wasn’t born with the gene that makes a person video things when stuff gets serious.
I guess I wasn’t born with the gene that makes a person video things when stuff gets serious.
Clearly a modern phenomena that boggles the mind.
Grand58742
10-12-20, 11:18
And yet he never puts that phone down for the 15 mins of fame. If a big cat, bear etc is coming at me, last thing on my mind will be getting it on vid. I don't fathom the mentality. Guy in NJ filmed himself getting eaten by a bear a few years ago too. Trip and fall while walking backward focused on getting those FB clicks, and kitty will be on you in a second. Hiking in places with animals, you do so with an ability to defend yourself. That's why humans are the apex predators. I never hike in nature minus a tool of defense of some sort, preferably one that goes bang.
I was thinking it might have been a GoPro or something on his shoulder. When he adjusts it to his face at the end, it looks like it swivels as opposed to flipping a camera around. It's way too "steady" while Mama is moving up on him to be a phone IMO.
Videos like this just reaffirm my need for a 10mm Glock with an RDS.
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I was thinking it might have been a GoPro or something on his shoulder. When he adjusts it to his face at the end, it looks like it swivels as opposed to flipping a camera around. It's way too "steady" while Mama is moving up on him to be a phone IMO.
Maybe you're right. No lack of examples where people more interested in making sure they get their 15 mins on social media over focusing on actually living through it, exists however.
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-12-20, 11:59
"I'm big and scary"- who is he talking to, the cat or himself.
IF my life were on the line,I know I can 'roar' better than that.
Grand58742
10-12-20, 12:16
Maybe you're right. No lack of examples where people more interested in making sure they get their 15 mins on social media over focusing on actually living through it, exists however.
No doubt. There's plenty of idiots out there that don't think twice about putting themselves in danger just for those 15 seconds of video fame. This looked to just be a guy out taking a hike and came across a real bad situation, but made decent choices (other than not being strapped). I give him mad props for having the mind to keep his front to her and not trying to be a dingbat and running away like a lot of people might have. She would have torn him to pieces had he tried to run away.
Regardless, Mama was not impressed in the least by his "growling" and him asking nicely for her to leave.
Luckily you could tell by her body language that she was purely in defense mode. The pinned back ears, really overt snarling and short charges while slapping her paws on the ground were intended just to get him out of her perceived territory and away from the cubs. In this case she decided to really press her advantage though. He probably could have ended the encounter much sooner had he been quicker about picking up a rock.
If she had really wanted to kill him he never would have seen her at all.
I’m not saying she wouldn’t have killed and eaten him, but that would only have happened incidentally if he had done something really dumb like turning and running. It wouldn’t have been her original intent.
We have had numerous encounters with cats like that, with the scientific name of Puma Concolor. Earlier this year we lost some calves to such a cat, and brought in a local tracker with dogs. They got on the trail but the cat moved to higher mesas and across to the adjacent ranch. Never caught or killed it. Just as an example, here is a picture from earlier this year of two 300 + lbs calves we lost to that Mountain Lion - this was in one incident after dark. Imagine what could happen to an unarmed human?
https://i.imgur.com/F6JCZngh.jpg
Seemed like the rock worked pretty well, the cat turned tail immediately. I was actually thinking early in the vid grab a rock dummy, they're all over the road.
Other thing that was interesting was how long the cat kept following him. Never seen anything quite like that. As was said it was clear she was defending and didn't really want a fight, which is lucky for him.
Luckily you could tell by her body language that she was purely in defense mode. The pinned back ears, really overt snarling and short charges while slapping her paws on the ground were intended just to get him out of her perceived territory and away from the cubs. In this case she decided to really press her advantage though. He probably could have ended the encounter much sooner had he been quicker about picking up a rock.
If she had really wanted to kill him he never would have seen her at all.
I’m not saying she wouldn’t have killed and eaten him, but that would only have happened incidentally if he had done something really dumb like turning and running. It wouldn’t have been her original intent.
Yeah, they are ambush hunters. They want no part of a face-to-face encounter unless they have to.
I have been fortunate: everywhere I have been with Big Animals That Can Kill Me Dead, I have heard them, I have seen tracks and scat, but have not seen the animals themselves close by. I am OK with that. Just like swimming in the ocean, I know I am not the apex in that environment.
Grand58742
10-12-20, 13:57
Seemed like the rock worked pretty well, the cat turned tail immediately. I was actually thinking early in the vid grab a rock dummy, they're all over the road.
Other thing that was interesting was how long the cat kept following him. Never seen anything quite like that. As was said it was clear she was defending and didn't really want a fight, which is lucky for him.
I'm wondering if that path he took went by her den and that's why she kept at him like that. They are territorial, but I don't recall ever hearing of one following a person that far once they are out of sight of the babies.
Maybe that was her way of saying "Look, ****er, you're not making this any better by going that way!"
Sometimes it's better to let them cover up the carcass & then sit over it till they return (only option for us vs dogs & leaving the property really)...we've had sightings on the ranch I hunt down here by the river, but man are they elusive with crazy large home ranges. Also home to the ocelot & jaguarundi which have been sighted over the years.
We have had numerous encounters with cats like that, with the scientific name of Puma Concolor. Earlier this year we lost some calves to such a cat, and brought in a local tracker with dogs. They got on the trail but the cat moved to higher mesas and across to the adjacent ranch. Never caught or killed it. Just as an example, here is a picture from earlier this year of two 300 + lbs calves we lost to that Mountain Lion - this was in one incident after dark. Imagine what could happen to an unarmed human?
I'm wondering if that path he took went by her den and that's why she kept at him like that. They are territorial, but I don't recall ever hearing of one following a person that far once they are out of sight of the babies.
Maybe that was her way of saying "Look, ****er, you're not making this any better by going that way!"
Yeah that was strange. I'm not any kind of pro at hunting or dealing with cougars, but we've seen them and black bear a few times backpacking in WA state. The bears just sort of didn't care, the cougars seemed shy and would split immediately. Of course in our case, I was armed and there were always either 2 or 4 of us together, probably the larger group was somewhat of a deterrent to a cougar.
This was a good reminder, I sometimes like to go backpacking alone, and that's generally not advisable in areas like ours, for reasons like what happened in this video. I have a friend who does this as well, one time he broke his ankle in a remote area and fell way down off a steep trail, was stuck out there for days until they found him, was all over the news.
But I'll keep doing it anyway, I enjoy the solitude of the woods. Definitely will continue to pack a pistol with a hardcast 255gr load, always have but this reinforces it. Even if you're doing something like stepping away from your tent to take a bio break, you better be armed. :laugh:
We have had numerous encounters with cats like that, with the scientific name of Puma Concolor. Earlier this year we lost some calves to such a cat, and brought in a local tracker with dogs. They got on the trail but the cat moved to higher mesas and across to the adjacent ranch. Never caught or killed it. Just as an example, here is a picture from earlier this year of two 300 + lbs calves we lost to that Mountain Lion - this was in one incident after dark. Imagine what could happen to an unarmed human?
Either act as the apex predator and tool user, or be lunch.
titsonritz
10-12-20, 14:19
I guess I wasn’t born with the gene that makes a person video things when stuff gets serious.
Clearly a modern phenomena that boggles the mind.
The ones that blow me away are those recording their felonies and posting them online, retards.
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-12-20, 15:05
Seemed like the rock worked pretty well, the cat turned tail immediately. I was actually thinking early in the vid grab a rock dummy, they're all over the road.
Other thing that was interesting was how long the cat kept following him. Never seen anything quite like that. As was said it was clear she was defending and didn't really want a fight, which is lucky for him.
I wonder if crouching down to get a rock might provoke an attack as you get smaller. The guys says that when he takes his eye off the cat it would try to close.
Either act as the apex predator and tool user, or be lunch.
Well put.
turnburglar
10-12-20, 15:08
I didn't watch the video cause of a lack of FB on my end.
What I will say is that my inherent fear of cats is HHHUUUUGEEEE. I don't EVER hike without at least a 9mm shield.
If I ever did run into a big cat on the trail I would use my phone as a projectile weapon before I make 'blair witch pt 3'.
I love how everyone today is Steven Spielberg.
I didn't watch the video cause of a lack of FB on my end.
What I will say is that my inherent fear of cats is HHHUUUUGEEEE. I don't EVER hike without at least a 9mm shield.
If I ever did run into a big cat on the trail I would use my phone as a projectile weapon before I make 'blair witch pt 3'.
I love how everyone today is Steven Spielberg.
The only animals I actually worry about when hiking walk on 2 legs. Those are the most dangerous, the most likely to harm me, and the least predictable. That and really big spiders. I don't like really big spiders.
I wonder if crouching down to get a rock might provoke an attack as you get smaller. The guys says that when he takes his eye off the cat it would try to close.
Well you can always use your bare hands and strangle the cougar, like this guy. https://abcnews.go.com/US/trail-runner-kills-attacking-mountain-lion-defense-authorities/story?id=60847507, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/us/man-kills-cougar-mountain-lion.html
From the Colorado Division of Wildlife on cougar defense, same article:
"-- If the lion behaves aggressively, throw stones, branches or whatever you can get your hands on without crouching down or turning your back." Slightly contradictory advice--how do you pick up the rock if you can't crouch to get it? :jester:
The only animals I actually worry about when hiking walk on 2 legs. Those are the most dangerous, the most likely to harm me, and the least predictable. That and really big spiders. I don't like really big spiders.
It's rattlers that spook me the most being in the brush & I'm in the middle of illegal immigrant / drug traffic country...lost one dog bird hunting & had another barely survive. Of course being in florida walking up on record setting pythons not paying attn wouldn't be fun either.
https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/florida-hunters-break-record-with-18-foot-python
Being allergic I also kida flip with flying stinging insects & the little spiders like recluse & widows...scorpions suck. I'm also fighting a recent bout with chiggers on the river & boy are those little demons the work of the devil!! Think I'd easily pick a puma encounter at the moment!!
Grand58742
10-12-20, 16:37
FYI, I ain't afraid of Cougars.
Wine 'em, dine 'em, give them a little horizontal tango and they stop being aggressive.
So I was visiting one of my friends who literally lived up in the mountains in NC and we went out the back door sliders and a really BIG cat (6-7 feet...LARGE) hopped out of a nearby tree and walked away from us. Didn't see it until it was on the ground only a few feet away, had us if it wanted us.
Scared the crap out of me (again BIG cat) and my buddy was like "Yeah, we got a bunch of them running around...no biggie."
FYI...some of the best wild game I ever had was ML Backstrap that a buddy shot on a guided hunt that came from Co. I would rather shoot a big cat than another huge trophy whitetail but have only gotten a couple of glimpses of my decades down here. It would just mean more to get one down here being so rare vs. treeing one up north where more common.
Just based on her behavior, I think it’s possible that if the cameraman had stopped retreating and just held his ground, she might have stopped advancing in kind, and probably after a stalemate she might have headed back to her Cubs. But something about the way the guy kept retreating seemed to make her want to really drive her point home.
I dunno why the guy took so long to grab a rock but it may have been because he was cognizant of the fact that bending down in front of a big cat and taking his eyes off it could potentially trigger a full attack.
The interesting thing for me, as a bit of a zoology nerd, is how similar the cougar’s defensive display behavior was to that of cheetahs - who also engage in a similar sort of defensive paw slapping when confronting threats. Which makes sense because cougars (and jaguarundis which are also in the genus Puma) are the closest living relatives to cheetahs.
Cougars are probably the fastest carnivore in the Americas as well, with a top speed of 45-50mph.
WickedWillis
10-12-20, 18:01
I have a hard time feeling bad for people who put themselves in these situations unprepared. The unfortunate part is as we continue to spread out and expand as a species, it will only happen more frequently as they run out of habitat.
I have a hard time feeling bad for people who put themselves in these situations unprepared. The unfortunate part is as we continue to spread out and expand as a species, it will only happen more frequently as they run out of habitat.
In this part of the United States, it's sometimes unavoidable. The closest real "town" to the ranch is Roy, New Mexico - population 230 +/-. In recent years, folks walking the dog in the evening started encountering Mountain Lions on the edge of town, probably eyeing the pooch as an easy meal. Kind of spooked the local women folk and they started carrying weapons. Never had an attack, but some descriptions of the cat eyeing the human and canine friend less than 50 feet away.
Drought conditions in the American West since the mid 1990's has changed the whole scheme of things in the natural world here. Less vegetation, bark beetles, increases in some vermin while others are hard to find, and bigger predators searching for food in habitats they normally wouldn't hunt in. It's climate change, but part of a series of cycles that happens around every 100 years out here. It's a natural process.
Dr. Bullseye
10-12-20, 21:15
Homo erectus in this situation learned TO PICK UP A ROCK and throw it. Animals hate and fear this. There are lots of rocks in the road on this video. The dog attracted the mountain lion, not you. A mountain lion appeared near me taking my little dog for a walk. It was clearly hunting my dog. I made noise, got my dog and we split--no real confrontation.
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-12-20, 22:32
The only animals I actually worry about when hiking walk on 2 legs. Those are the most dangerous, the most likely to harm me, and the least predictable. That and really big spiders. I don't like really big spiders.
Was in Grand Lake on the west edge of RMNP and there was a ranger there with a Glock. I asked if that was for two or four legged threats... they didn’t get it..
I have a hard time feeling bad for people who put themselves in these situations unprepared. The unfortunate part is as we continue to spread out and expand as a species, it will only happen more frequently as they run out of habitat.
Watered lawns and people feeding the deer rather than shooting them means the fat and lazy prey is closer to people. That combined with hunting restrictions on cougars is the cause around here, as there is no shortage of wild habitat.
RioGrandeGreen
10-13-20, 03:14
It's rattlers that spook me the most being in the brush & I'm in the middle of illegal immigrant / drug traffic country...lost one dog bird hunting & had another barely survive. Of course being in florida walking up on record setting pythons not paying attn wouldn't be fun either.
https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/florida-hunters-break-record-with-18-foot-python
Being allergic I also kida flip with flying stinging insects & the little spiders like recluse & widows...scorpions suck. I'm also fighting a recent bout with chiggers on the river & boy are those little demons the work of the devil!! Think I'd easily pick a puma encounter at the moment!!
I had a bad case of chigger bites in Ft. Hood back in the day. An ole vet told me to take a shower and use Clorox in a wash clothe and kill those sumbitches. It worked but i had over a hundred bite marks all over my body. Good times.
he should have tried to pet it :) that would be a good vid then
This is a new video about the same incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60NXS7VRT74
This is a new video about the same incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60NXS7VRT74
That one is MUCH scarier!
This is a new video about the same incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60NXS7VRT74
Ok, that was creepy.
I have a hard time feeling bad for people who put themselves in these situations unprepared. The unfortunate part is as we continue to spread out and expand as a species, it will only happen more frequently as they run out of habitat.
I think they are also moving into more populated areas due to no natural enemies and plenty of food (domesticated and wild). My wife saw a mountain lion and two cubs over near a friend's farm. She stopped and talked to her and they, too, have seen them and reported it to TWRA. TWRA's response was there are no mountain lions in this area so you couldn't have seen what you saw. Right, from what I understand that is their standard response.
I think they are also moving into more populated areas due to no natural enemies and plenty of food (domesticated and wild). My wife saw a mountain lion and two cubs over near a friend's farm. She stopped and talked to her and they, too, have seen them and reported it to TWRA. TWRA's response was there are no mountain lions in this area so you couldn't have seen what you saw. Right, from what I understand that is their standard response.
Wolves are about the only other North American predator that can suppress cougar populations or exclude them from habitats. Obviously, one on one, a cougar is going to whack a lone wolf pretty easily in most cases, but wolf packs are quite effective at harassing cougars, driving them off kills and killing young and even adult cats on occasion.
Bears mostly “outrank” cougars too in the predator hierarchy but don’t tend to compete as directly with them as wolves do.
WickedWillis
10-16-20, 10:50
I think they are also moving into more populated areas due to no natural enemies and plenty of food (domesticated and wild). My wife saw a mountain lion and two cubs over near a friend's farm. She stopped and talked to her and they, too, have seen them and reported it to TWRA. TWRA's response was there are no mountain lions in this area so you couldn't have seen what you saw. Right, from what I understand that is their standard response.
Where I grew up (Northwestern MT) they never had a shortage of any game to feed on, but you are right about several areas in this COuntry where they are competing for food.
This newer video just reaffirms that she is not stalking or hunting this guy, but is protecting her cubs. We just don't see many cases like this, usually it's a mother bear, but all animals are fierce about protecting their young.
This newer video just reaffirms that she is not stalking or hunting this guy, but is protecting her cubs. We just don't see many cases like this, usually it's a mother bear, but all animals are fierce about protecting their young.
Yup...Bluff charging and carrying on to get him away from her cubs. If she wanted him for dinner, he would have found out about it when she started eating his face.
Anyway, I'm happy momma-cat didn't get blasted and that everyone got to go about their lives.
WickedWillis
10-16-20, 13:57
Yup...Bluff charging and carrying on to get him away from her cubs. If she wanted him for dinner, he would have found out about it when she started eating his face.
Anyway, I'm happy momma-cat didn't get blasted and that everyone got to go about their lives.
Me too.
Y'all see the new video in post #39?
Y'all see the new video in post #39?
Is this the new Rickrolling?
Y'all see the new video in post #39?
where's the eye bleach??
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