Categories: Recreation

How to Protect Yourself When a Mountain Lion Attacks

If you were walking along a trail, enjoying a summer hike and suddenly came on a mountain lion, would you know what to do? If you are like most people, probably not. The mountain lion is an elusive, solitary, and capable attacker that really does not want to come in contact with human beings. Even so, mountain lions, or cougars as they are commonly called, do kill people. What should you do if you encounter one of these majestic large cats?

The universal answer among people is that you should run from a mountain lion. This is the absolute worst thing to do, as it will show you as weak, and potential prey. The mountain lion is a predator, and you can be sure he knows you are there long before you realize he is there. You cannot outrun, out climb, or evade a determined mountain lion, especially if he sees you as potential prey. Knowing this, lesson number one is to resist the urge to run.

If you are not running, then what exactly should you do as you stare down this huge mountain lion you ask? Very simply put, make yourself as big and imposing as possible. If a stick is nearby, by all means arm yourself. Pick up rocks, spread your arms and flap them, yell and shout, and make it seem as though you are not a helpless human. If the mountain lion is showing signs of aggression, then do not hesitate to hurl a rock in its direction. If it is passively watching you, then do not throw the rocks. Continue to make yourself a large formidable foe however, so that the lion realizes that you are not helpless.

As you are doing this, you want to back slowly away from the lion. Do not turn your back on the mountain lion. If the mountain lion shows aggression at this point, again, throw rocks. Continue to wave and shout and make yourself large.

If all this fails and the mountain lion attacks, fight as though your life depends on it. (It does) Hit the mountain lion with anything you can find, including your fists. The lion is weakest in the nose, and around the mouth so aim for these areas. The most important two things in this situation is not to lay down and play dead, and to protect your head and neck above all. The lion will instinctively go for your neck so you want to protect against that at all costs. The reason for this is because this is the way the mountain lion takes down prey in the wild.

One last bit of advice is to remember to hike in groups, and try not to hike around dusk or dawn as this is the mountain lion’s time to hunt.

The mountain lion is a beautiful part of our wild that should be respected and protected. If you have the misfortune of coming across a mountain lion in the wild, at least you now have some general working knowledge of how to protect yourself.