How to Protect Yourself When a Mountain Lion Attacks
What Would You Do?
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.
Published by Rodney Southern - Featured Contributor in Sports
My name is Rodney Southern and I have a lovely wife, Julie, and two beautiful twin daughters, Brooke and Valerie. Also, I was the 2008 Ultimate Call for Content Winner, and awarded a Top 100 badge for Associ... View profile
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- Mountain lions are not likely to want to attack you, but you should know what to do in an encounter.
- Never run from a mountain lion
- Never hike alone in cougar territory.
11 Comments
Post a CommentThanks. What a great article. Helpful.
this info could possibly help me one day when I walk down the hill to check the mail..lol..thanks for sharing.
Excellent info.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to always hike with a couple of Oorang Airedale Terrier dogs. The mountain lion would no doubt choose to leave.
great advice, I hope I never need it!
FYI, when a mountain lion attacks I am not planning to be anywhere in the vicinity... of wherever it is that the mountain lion is planing his attack. Why isn't Homeland Security investigating these plotting mountain lions?
Wonderful picture of a mountain lion. Mountain lion attacks are a scary thought. Here -- in Southern, MN, we had a mountain lion attack and kill a full grown cow 2 years ago. There are some mountain lions around here, but rarely are they seen.
This is very good advice. This is something that I always keep in mind when hiking. You never know what can happen.
This is a great article! Hopefully, I'll never need this advice, but thanks for sharing! :)
I hope I can contain myself long enough to remember your advice should I ever run across a mountain lion.
Ha.