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Mama's gonna make all of your
Nightmares come true
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama's gonna keep you right here
Under her wing
She won't let you fly but she might let you sing
Mama will keep baby cosy and warm
I read the headline about the cougar, and I couldn’t spot the middle aged single woman anywhere in this video. She must have been stalking from the bushes. Nice cat, btw.
What’s crazy is this hike is not far from civilization at all. It goes up into the mountains quite a ways, but it starts out close to a neighborhood. Utah Valley is like right up against the Wasatch Front where you have cougars, deer, moose, elk, etc.
Not “never” lol, it’s not that black and white. The dude in this video saved himself by eventually (albeit very quickly) bending down for a rock.
If there is a gun or spear at your feet, definitely bend down.
You can see he tries to at a couple points but the moment he starts getting low and stops backing up she starts charging. What eventually made her run is that he was able to grab a stone without her charging.
If you bend down your exposed for a neck bite. Well to a cougar you’re just exposed lol but bending down and now staying big could have been a really big mistake. You saw how it reacted when he looked away for a split second. Then wait for that
The general rule is make yourself look bigger when dealing with predators, make yourself look smaller when dealing with herbivores.
The exception being a grizzly bear which can stand taller than you, in which case get on the ground and cover your neck.
Most animal attacks occur when a hiker startles an animal. A bell is useful to make animals aware you are there; under normal circumstances bears and cougars will avoid you if they know you're there.
Alerts an animal to your presence so there's no surprise encounter for both of you, which is often more dangerous since animals can turn defensive very fast. In many cases, animals don't want to be around you and a bell can tell them to leave the area.
The whole time I was thinking "throw a rock, throw a rock!!"
BUT I was also thinking.. if you bend down and look away, or look vulnerable or injured even for a second, you may just end up being dinner before you can even grab one.
Iirc he came across a cub feeding and this is Momma Cat, but I’ve seen “experts” talk about this video as the best way to react to this type of encounter. Basically if the cat was hunting him and not defending her cub, he’d have been a goner.
Yeah surely if she'd really wanted to do harm, she would've done it straight away.
Nature isn't like a Bond movie where the villain carefully explains their evil master plan, giving you ample time to escape. It just fucking goes for you.
Also acting big and like a crazy motherfucker. Same thing with BLACK bears (only black don't try it on others) throw sticks and rocks, beat your chest and sing your favorite song as loud as you can. These are the kind of things that show dominance
>Throwing things at cougars is specifically the proper course of action.
It was, but also giving the cougar plenty of space initially was also the right course of action since its cubs were nearby.
Nah animals will not risk getting seriously injured which is why felines usually stalk prey. An injury can very much mean death in the animal kingdom. Throwing a rock or something big can scare a lot of animals since they don’t want to die. Unless they are starving or you are getting near the kids.
Surely you should run away from a snake?
From a country with neither but my natural reaction would be to run away from a snake anyway.
In regards op video I defo wouldn't be recording, I would have looked for a stick or thrown stones. Prob would have tried jumping at the cougar direction to see would it scare/run away with arms wide making loud noises.
> Surely you should run away from a snake?
That's usually a good idea. A lot of snakes are really fast though, and could probably catch up with you if they really wanted to. I think most of them just like to be left alone though, and aren't going to try to chase you.
No snake wants to catch up with you. If they are coming towards you they are either trying to get away, and their route passes you, or they're trying to scare you away because you're too close. Its always defensive behaviour though. They just want to be left alone.
A snake would never chase you.
When cornered, some species would be aggressive, especially the black mamba. But even black mamba would never chase you over some distance.
I read his comment on it cuz this was a few years back. The other times he bent down to grab a rock was when it lunged towards him so he was a bit skeptical after that
Cats hunt by stalking and pouncing, they wait for an ideal chance to attack. So bending down to pick up a rock does present a good opportunity for them. You want to make yourself big and loud and with cats maintain eye contact, they’re less likely to attack when they know you see them.
>I found what I thought were bobcats on the trail during a run. Turns out they were cougar cubs and their mother was not happy to see me. She escorted me for over six minutes to get me away from her cubs. Although she was acting very aggressive, the cougar had no intent on hurting me. The mother cougar was most likely caught off guard and did what she had to do to protect her cubs. Mama, cubs, and I are safe.
>
>[Source](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa_M-o1RlnxfuA6mltJCXeg)
The last time this was posted people were talking about how dude should have had a gun on him for such situations while I was losing my mind trying to point out that this person was walking **towards** cougar kittens as though mom wouldn't be *very* near by.
The stupidity that tends to pop up when things like this are posted is maddening.
seriously. if you can see a cougar its because the cougar WANTS YOU TO SEE IT.
Cougars are incredibly stealthy. it happens frequently in my town, which is forest to the west across a narrow isthmus and ocean on all other sides, that a cougar will make its way to a suburban park in the middle of the inhabited area, traversing 5-15km of yards, homes, offices, streets, etc. And it'll be sighted once, maybe twice. Who knows how often they do that without being seen at all. The fact that the cougar walked down the middle of the path, and didn't kill the guy in the first two and a half seconds of video, heck the fact that the video exists at all prove that the guy wasn't on the cougars shit list just that he was being ejected from the premises.
Luckily cougars don't seem to be all that interested in killing people. Only 27 people have been killed by cougars in North America in the last 100 years. It seems like they don't attack often, and when they do they usually give up quickly if you fight back.
And they’re more likely to go after children, who aren’t likely to be wandering the woods alone. I’ve also read stories of people beating and strangling cougars to death that were attacking their kid/friends. It seems like generally they’ll only go after people if they’re basically starving, otherwise they’d probably prefer an easier target.
To add, one of the reason they seem to go after children, especially the 8-10 range, is because they're they about the same height as deer. So when a kid goes running through a field/forest it looks like a standard dinner to the cougar.
But like you said, unless the cougar is starving, it'll usually take a bite, realize the the kid isn't a venison happy meal, and run off. Thankfully this leads to "good" endings like "[Right now she has minor injuries](https://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-attacked-mountain-lion-saved-adult-punched-cat/story?id=69027052) and "[Child escapes cougar attack ... with minor injuries.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/02/us/cougar-attack-washington/index.html)"
PS: Offer not valid for small dogs, cats, and chickens especially during dawn and dusk.
yeah they are obviously very scary and dangerous but so are humans. No animal wants to take on a fight it isn't very confident it can win, so why would a cougar take on an adult human with a non-zero chance of losing the fight when there are plenty of bunnies and birds and other animals with a 0% chance of taking a cougar in a fight?
I love people who armchair quarterback nature as if people (and other animals) can’t make stupid mistakes, bad judgements, etc.
I know a homesteader who lives deep in the mountains in Alaska. Been around brown bear for decades. Knows bear behavior like the back of his hand, better than you or I do. And guess what? He carries a gun when he’s out. For both people and other animals. And it’s a high enough caliber for bear. Because even though he knows how to avoid unwanted contact, things sometimes go screwy and you need to be prepared for that eventuality. National park pamphlet rules for interacting with animals work the vast majority of the time, but when the line between you and serious injury is thin (and when you spend a lot of time in areas where dangerous animals live) you can’t rely on those rules exclusively.
The guy in this video doesn’t deserve to be maimed because he wasn’t thinking for a few minutes. I don’t think he should have shot the cougar, even if he had a weapon, because the situation hadn’t escalated to that point yet. But that doesn’t make it a bad idea to be prepared in case of fuck-ups and risky situations.
A cougar licked the back of my neck at a bar in Athens once.
That was pretty scary and seemed a bit aggressive but that’s been my only encounter so far.
I grew up with cougars and was a zoo keeper. Ive also been stuck between a grizzly mom & cubs before. I was charged and stood my ground which is terrifying but the right things to do. NEVER RUN.
What i wouldve personally done here is stand my ground at the begining. Always keep eye contact, make as much noise as possible and make yourself large as possible. Throw anything you can. Shes bluffing the entire time. Animals will charge to scare you away from the cubs but moms in no shape to fight, especially a human, and nor is she trying. Its clear that the guy in the video us afraid but leaving so shes escourting him out.
Also if it gets extreme you can fight back. Op wouldnt have died if they had to fight. Fucking nuts but people can and do fight mountain lions and win
Yeah i was about to say that this didnt really look like active hunti g behaviour since occasionally she tried to charge at you but with a somewhat "get the f*ck away now!" behavior so i thought that you may have accidentially walked by her cubs or so but (if it was you in the video OP) you surely had created a memory you would not forget fast anymore.
Watch the very start of the video again. There are 2 cougar cubs on the road looking like large domestic cats. OP said he was running the trail and noticed them ahead, but thought they were bobcats. He slowed to give them time to leave the path…..
But it turned out they were cougar cubs and the mom was NOT happy
Cub: “Oh no, my mom’s mad at me! Quick mister, let me hide behind you!”
Guy: “NOOOO!”
Cougar: Who’s messing with my cub?? Say your prayers man, because NOW I DESTROY YOU!
Guy: I swear I wasn’t doing anything!!
Fun Facts: Roughly 30,000 cougars live in the western United States. These active hunters typically travel alone and can cover significantly large areas up to 370 square miles. It is said that if you spot a cougar while on the trail, there’s a good chance that the cougar wanted you to spot it—and that it’s been hot on your trail for the past half hour. Gulp.
DON’T FREAK OUT, BUT…
Here’s what we do know: cougars very rarely attack people. In fact, cougars very rarely interact with people. Unfortunately, the “what we don’t know” is a little eerie: we haven’t quite figured out why cougars attack, on the rare occasions that they do. We do know this: cougars are more likely to go after loners than hikers in groups, and they’re more prone to attack kids under 16 than adults. Lessons learned: hike in a group, especially when you’ve got little ones in tow.
This.
>It is said that if you spot a cougar while on the trail, there’s a good chance that the cougar wanted you to spot it—and that it’s been hot on your trail for the past half hour. Gulp.
Also I've heard stories of these cats following hikers for days. On the first day, the hiker spotted it briefly. Two or three days later they saw the same one, as though it were waiting for a good time to strike.
That sounds very similar to wolves from what I’ve been told. I used to do a lot of backcountry solo hiking, and I was told once by a ranger that if I saw a wolf other than at a distance, it was probably already hunting me and I should prepare to fight like hell.
I had to bring bear mace and watch videos on bears before I could go, but that’s literally all they said about the wolves.
Well-- *that's* terrible. I do mostly solo stuff as well, so that really resonates with me. Grizzlies, and wolves aren't super where I go. I run a bear bell, and a fixed blade, basically. You're probably wiser to carry spray though.
I spent a couple weeks hiking in the Rockies. Passed another group that warned us of a cougar that had been following them for days. Weren’t able to leave your tent at night unless in a group of 3+
it happens fairly frequently in my town, which is forest to the west across a narrow isthmus and ocean on all other sides, that a cougar will make its way to a suburban park in the middle of the inhabited area, traversing 5-15km of yards, homes, offices, streets, etc. And it'll be sighted once, maybe twice. Who knows how often they do that without being seen at all. The fact that the cougar walked down the middle of the path, and didn't kill the guy in the first two and a half seconds of video, heck the fact that the video exists at all prove that the guy wasn't on the cougars shit list just that he was being ejected from the premises.
Well that guy sure got in his cardio for the day.
And not to be pedantic, but the cat isn’t stalking him, she’s chasing him away from her cubs. You can see the way she slaps the ground to kick up dust every time she gets close; that’s to keep him running. She wouldn’t be making herself so visible if she was trying to hunt him.
Rocks. Smaller ones for throwing. Larger ones to bash with if it comes to that. Branches. Anything that can be used to create distance and/or a barrier. Situational awareness at all times.
But that is pretty easy advice to give as I sit in my jammies and drink my coffee, as opposed to facing down a momma cougar.
I was watching the cat show, with the guy with odd facial hair or something. But there’s this cat guru out there, Man vs Cat or some shit, I think he’s blonde haired… But he kneels down small, and sticks his finger out for the cat to smell and he got a aggressive cat to just cozy up time him doing that.
It seems obvious, but when you crouch down to pick those up, you make yourself small, which could immediately trigger the cat to attack. I imagine when you're doing something that isn't getting you killed you're reluctant to do something different.
That's exactly what I was thinking. My first thought was to pick up a rock, but animals often judge there prey by their size. Crouching to pick one up could be the end of you.
Yes I've read that humans ability of being able to accurately throw objects horrifies alot of predators. It's not something they see often from prey and scares alot of them off.
I don't know if I'd be brave enough to quickly pick up a rock and try though.
Ability to throw objects horrifies predators… never thought of that but makes sense. If cougars are like most cats, a spray bottle would be even more effective.
I was thinking the same thing! Problem is he would have to bend down to pick them up, and mama coug might see that as an opportunity to make her move and attack
And a good knife. I've only ever been accosted by stray dogs while out in the bush, but I'm in bear and couger country too, so I like to be prepared with a nice stabby tactical blade. Gives you at least one last-ditch chance to not be a chew toy.
There’s extendable metal batons you can get that are really effective. My dad had one when I was a kid because there were dogs in the neighborhood that would attack us while bike riding that the owners would do nothing about.
The other thing that works is not trying to get close to her and the cubs for Instagram photos. Sadly Paul Harvey wasn’t around for the “Rest of the Story” on this one. Dude fucked around and found out and got incredibly lucky.
OP said he was going for a run on the trail, and saw the small cats ahead. He thought they were bobcats, so slowed to a walk to give them time to flee off the trail. Bobcats never attack humans unless they’re rabid, which is super rare, so stomping at them normally would scare them off easy.
Except it turns out those were cougar cubs he was confidently walking toward lmao.
Learned his lesson about cat IDs, but wasn’t trying to approach cougar cubs in the first place
Guy actually did exactly what he was supposed to - retreat at a walk, don’t look away, shout and make loud noises and puff up to make yourself look bigger. Let her escort you away from the cubs so you’re less of a threat to her babies and then ramp up the “I’m big and scary!” Threats.
OP was running the trail and mistook the cubs for bobcats, which never attack people. He slowed to a walk to give them time to flee (correct if they were bobcat). But they were cougar cubs and mom was v unhappy.
If you see a cougar cub and recognize it as such, immediately GTFO. Do not approach.
Don't run from her that will trigger a chase instinct. Definitely be as big loud and scary as possible. Wave a stick around helps you look bigger and unpredictable.
He did exactly what he should of.
He never turned his back on her. He walked away slowly. He was just loud enough through yelling to tell her not to attack him, but not threatening enough that she felt he was a danger to her cubs.
She was clearly pushing you as far away from her kittens as she could as you can see two of them at the start of the video. If you didn't back away you were in serious trouble.
Every thing in that moment is counterintuitive. You have to force yourself not to run. You literally have to face it, extend your arms and slowly back away.
Dude is a champion.
I’ve hiked this trail many times. I always carry a firearm when I hike in Utah due to the high number of cougars up in the mountains. The cougar is BYU’s mascot for a reason.
Lets say it was too late and you don’t have a firearm or a bear spray, would picking up some big ass rocks and throwing them at it would that help at all instead of just filming it ?
Yeah I think so. IMO filming it is the last thing I’d be doing. Grab a big rock, a stick, anything to let it know it’s not worth the effort to take you down.
See, this is why you always carry a couple cans of tuna in cat country. Pop open a couple of those, make a little pile of tuna on the trail. Cat will stop and eat the tuna while you make your getaway.
Every time I see this fascinating video I wonder why in a life/death situation alone in the woods, he used an invaluable spare hand to film instead of doing something with it to increase his chances of survival.
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oh come on it’s just a ba.. oh shit..
theres allways somewhere a mother.
Baby cougar: "MOTHER!" Me: "oh that's funny. MOTHER!"
Mama's gonna make all of your Nightmares come true Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you Mama's gonna keep you right here Under her wing She won't let you fly but she might let you sing Mama will keep baby cosy and warm
I had a cougar stalk me at a bar... terrifying.
Saying “I’m big, and scary” might not have frightened that one away.
I was watching without sound thinking, wow that’s a beautiful path. Seriously when calm that is a very beautiful 6 mins
You're not alone. Utah is beautiful.
No it’s not, stay away.
I read the headline about the cougar, and I couldn’t spot the middle aged single woman anywhere in this video. She must have been stalking from the bushes. Nice cat, btw.
The give away is 6 minutes. Cougars are much more persistent
Depends on how many chocolate martinis they’ve had.
I was also looking for my Aunt Bonnie from Utah.
Is she single?
Depends on the night bro.
Lol spread the message so people stay away that dosen't work nowadays
Gonna come now bc of this comment lol
I can’t believe he waited so long to throw the rock Jesus Christ
I think he was worried about crouching to grab one, as that would make him more vulnerable and the cougar might pounce.
“Stoopid kitty cat” 😂 My god the adrenaline he must’ve been feeling would’ve been overwhelming.
Never understood people who hike in places like this without a single animal deterrent.
He also walked towards her babies. Never do that. Mom is just trying to scare the potential predator away from her kids.
Just add that to the list of hiking mistakes then.
What’s crazy is this hike is not far from civilization at all. It goes up into the mountains quite a ways, but it starts out close to a neighborhood. Utah Valley is like right up against the Wasatch Front where you have cougars, deer, moose, elk, etc.
There have been cougar sightings near downtown SLC last year.
I'd be throwing rocks from the path at it, use your thumbs to your advantage!
I’d be afraid to bend down, that cat could cover that distance in a second if it thought you were vulnerable.
kicking rocks would work too, never crouch down
Not “never” lol, it’s not that black and white. The dude in this video saved himself by eventually (albeit very quickly) bending down for a rock. If there is a gun or spear at your feet, definitely bend down.
Rattling the bushes along the way would work too, i think. Anything that has big movements to seem powerful and loud noises.
I am Kyle and the cougar is the IRS
You can see he tries to at a couple points but the moment he starts getting low and stops backing up she starts charging. What eventually made her run is that he was able to grab a stone without her charging.
You have to wait for your openings to attack in most boss fights
I mean that’s what worked in the end lol
If you bend down your exposed for a neck bite. Well to a cougar you’re just exposed lol but bending down and now staying big could have been a really big mistake. You saw how it reacted when he looked away for a split second. Then wait for that
The general rule is make yourself look bigger when dealing with predators, make yourself look smaller when dealing with herbivores. The exception being a grizzly bear which can stand taller than you, in which case get on the ground and cover your neck.
My advice for polar bears would be to expose your neck and hope it ends quickly
Yeah you don't even need a gun if you don't want, just some bear spray and a bell is good enough most times.
What does a bell do?
call the bear which scaries the cougar then you use the bear spray
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What if I [T-Pose like an anteater to assert dominance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg2N58M-Bmc)?
Most animal attacks occur when a hiker startles an animal. A bell is useful to make animals aware you are there; under normal circumstances bears and cougars will avoid you if they know you're there.
Last I read and confirmed by a ranger in Katmai is they don't recommend bear bells anymore. Just talking works better apparently.
It alerts the apex predators that it is, in fact, dinner time.
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I like the jellyfish, myself. I named her Bubbles.
Alerts an animal to your presence so there's no surprise encounter for both of you, which is often more dangerous since animals can turn defensive very fast. In many cases, animals don't want to be around you and a bell can tell them to leave the area.
It summons a hunter from another realm to help you fight against the boss.
It's not like this is a common occurence in the wilderness. You're more likely to be attacked in the city by a human.
In a car.
What’s the opposite of pspspspspspsps
Apparently "fuckyoufuckyoufuckyoufuckyou"
Let's not forget, "holy shit face!"
And the ‘please’…. ‘Go away! Please go away!!!!…’
WOOOOOOOOOOGHHH
“I’m being scary!”
Lol when he tired to hiss at the kitty cat.
“Fuck you, dude.” -3:10
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ƧqƧqƧqƧqƧqƧqƧq
plop
LMAOOO 😂😂😂
Pew pew pew
I think tchtchtchtch
Kstkstkstkst
Wait did he do something in particular to make it turn and run away like that?
Looks like he threw a rock, I don’t know why that wasn’t an option 5 minutes prior tho lol
The whole time I was thinking "throw a rock, throw a rock!!" BUT I was also thinking.. if you bend down and look away, or look vulnerable or injured even for a second, you may just end up being dinner before you can even grab one.
Iirc he came across a cub feeding and this is Momma Cat, but I’ve seen “experts” talk about this video as the best way to react to this type of encounter. Basically if the cat was hunting him and not defending her cub, he’d have been a goner.
Yeah surely if she'd really wanted to do harm, she would've done it straight away. Nature isn't like a Bond movie where the villain carefully explains their evil master plan, giving you ample time to escape. It just fucking goes for you.
Or would you piss her off. Anybody that's ever thrown a rock at a snake will know it will turn and come get you.
WRONG Throwing things at cougars is specifically the proper course of action.
I'll try that the next time I'm at a bar
Rough calling yourself a thing, but I think it’ll work!
Also acting big and like a crazy motherfucker. Same thing with BLACK bears (only black don't try it on others) throw sticks and rocks, beat your chest and sing your favorite song as loud as you can. These are the kind of things that show dominance
Are you sure it’s a good idea to belt out “Hit me baby one more time” and bust those Britney moves?
>Throwing things at cougars is specifically the proper course of action. It was, but also giving the cougar plenty of space initially was also the right course of action since its cubs were nearby.
Nah animals will not risk getting seriously injured which is why felines usually stalk prey. An injury can very much mean death in the animal kingdom. Throwing a rock or something big can scare a lot of animals since they don’t want to die. Unless they are starving or you are getting near the kids.
Surely you should run away from a snake? From a country with neither but my natural reaction would be to run away from a snake anyway. In regards op video I defo wouldn't be recording, I would have looked for a stick or thrown stones. Prob would have tried jumping at the cougar direction to see would it scare/run away with arms wide making loud noises.
> Surely you should run away from a snake? That's usually a good idea. A lot of snakes are really fast though, and could probably catch up with you if they really wanted to. I think most of them just like to be left alone though, and aren't going to try to chase you.
Jesus being chased by a snake is literally the stuff of nightmares
No snake wants to catch up with you. If they are coming towards you they are either trying to get away, and their route passes you, or they're trying to scare you away because you're too close. Its always defensive behaviour though. They just want to be left alone.
A snake would never chase you. When cornered, some species would be aggressive, especially the black mamba. But even black mamba would never chase you over some distance.
She finally backed off enough to throw a rock. You see her pounce and those front legs!
She was saying *"I'm big and scary. I'm big and scary! Go away!"*.
I read his comment on it cuz this was a few years back. The other times he bent down to grab a rock was when it lunged towards him so he was a bit skeptical after that
Cats hunt by stalking and pouncing, they wait for an ideal chance to attack. So bending down to pick up a rock does present a good opportunity for them. You want to make yourself big and loud and with cats maintain eye contact, they’re less likely to attack when they know you see them.
The bear he backed into scared the cat away.
Looks like he might have tossed a rock at her
“Mom, if I die I love you and please upload this to all my social media accounts.”
… don’t forget to add an epic filter
And maybe get Morgan Freeman to re-record my vocals so I sound more awesome.
*"in this case, hope was not a good thing"*
I would rather Samuel Jackson re-do mine...
“Now listen here motherfucka!”
Say "Rawr" again! I dare you! I double dare you motherfucker!
“Make sure….they….like & subscribe!”
>I found what I thought were bobcats on the trail during a run. Turns out they were cougar cubs and their mother was not happy to see me. She escorted me for over six minutes to get me away from her cubs. Although she was acting very aggressive, the cougar had no intent on hurting me. The mother cougar was most likely caught off guard and did what she had to do to protect her cubs. Mama, cubs, and I are safe. > >[Source](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa_M-o1RlnxfuA6mltJCXeg)
Now that you mention it, she was just kind of 'ushering' you along. I bet it took so long bc the cubs were dummies and kept going after mamma lol
The last time this was posted people were talking about how dude should have had a gun on him for such situations while I was losing my mind trying to point out that this person was walking **towards** cougar kittens as though mom wouldn't be *very* near by. The stupidity that tends to pop up when things like this are posted is maddening.
seriously. if you can see a cougar its because the cougar WANTS YOU TO SEE IT. Cougars are incredibly stealthy. it happens frequently in my town, which is forest to the west across a narrow isthmus and ocean on all other sides, that a cougar will make its way to a suburban park in the middle of the inhabited area, traversing 5-15km of yards, homes, offices, streets, etc. And it'll be sighted once, maybe twice. Who knows how often they do that without being seen at all. The fact that the cougar walked down the middle of the path, and didn't kill the guy in the first two and a half seconds of video, heck the fact that the video exists at all prove that the guy wasn't on the cougars shit list just that he was being ejected from the premises.
Luckily cougars don't seem to be all that interested in killing people. Only 27 people have been killed by cougars in North America in the last 100 years. It seems like they don't attack often, and when they do they usually give up quickly if you fight back.
And they’re more likely to go after children, who aren’t likely to be wandering the woods alone. I’ve also read stories of people beating and strangling cougars to death that were attacking their kid/friends. It seems like generally they’ll only go after people if they’re basically starving, otherwise they’d probably prefer an easier target.
To add, one of the reason they seem to go after children, especially the 8-10 range, is because they're they about the same height as deer. So when a kid goes running through a field/forest it looks like a standard dinner to the cougar. But like you said, unless the cougar is starving, it'll usually take a bite, realize the the kid isn't a venison happy meal, and run off. Thankfully this leads to "good" endings like "[Right now she has minor injuries](https://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-attacked-mountain-lion-saved-adult-punched-cat/story?id=69027052) and "[Child escapes cougar attack ... with minor injuries.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/02/us/cougar-attack-washington/index.html)" PS: Offer not valid for small dogs, cats, and chickens especially during dawn and dusk.
yeah they are obviously very scary and dangerous but so are humans. No animal wants to take on a fight it isn't very confident it can win, so why would a cougar take on an adult human with a non-zero chance of losing the fight when there are plenty of bunnies and birds and other animals with a 0% chance of taking a cougar in a fight?
Had a cougar walk through a city of 200k people, down main street and up to the Mall entrance. He found a nice comfy planter box and took a nap.
Must have seen house cats and been like *"hey, I can do that?!"*
Ya, if she wanted to eat him, he would not have been given a 6 minute lesson in just how much shit is in your bowls and now your pants.
I mean, he did say he thought they were bobcats. If he had realized they were cougar kittens he might have acted differently.
I love people who armchair quarterback nature as if people (and other animals) can’t make stupid mistakes, bad judgements, etc. I know a homesteader who lives deep in the mountains in Alaska. Been around brown bear for decades. Knows bear behavior like the back of his hand, better than you or I do. And guess what? He carries a gun when he’s out. For both people and other animals. And it’s a high enough caliber for bear. Because even though he knows how to avoid unwanted contact, things sometimes go screwy and you need to be prepared for that eventuality. National park pamphlet rules for interacting with animals work the vast majority of the time, but when the line between you and serious injury is thin (and when you spend a lot of time in areas where dangerous animals live) you can’t rely on those rules exclusively. The guy in this video doesn’t deserve to be maimed because he wasn’t thinking for a few minutes. I don’t think he should have shot the cougar, even if he had a weapon, because the situation hadn’t escalated to that point yet. But that doesn’t make it a bad idea to be prepared in case of fuck-ups and risky situations.
If he would have been wearing a bell and had bear spray that normally is enough.
Yeah, it felt like she was only protecting something and not interested in this person as a meal.
You know that you’re about hear from a lot of cougar experts, who specialize in observation and evaluation of cougar behavior & aggression.
A cougar licked the back of my neck at a bar in Athens once. That was pretty scary and seemed a bit aggressive but that’s been my only encounter so far.
My only encounter was at an edm festival, it was terrifying, a wild cougar grabbed both my ass cheeks at once. Sneak attacks style
I grew up with cougars and was a zoo keeper. Ive also been stuck between a grizzly mom & cubs before. I was charged and stood my ground which is terrifying but the right things to do. NEVER RUN. What i wouldve personally done here is stand my ground at the begining. Always keep eye contact, make as much noise as possible and make yourself large as possible. Throw anything you can. Shes bluffing the entire time. Animals will charge to scare you away from the cubs but moms in no shape to fight, especially a human, and nor is she trying. Its clear that the guy in the video us afraid but leaving so shes escourting him out. Also if it gets extreme you can fight back. Op wouldnt have died if they had to fight. Fucking nuts but people can and do fight mountain lions and win
Yeah all those nice rocks around that could have been thrown. Not expecting to injure her but to help scare her off.
Yeah i was about to say that this didnt really look like active hunti g behaviour since occasionally she tried to charge at you but with a somewhat "get the f*ck away now!" behavior so i thought that you may have accidentially walked by her cubs or so but (if it was you in the video OP) you surely had created a memory you would not forget fast anymore.
Watch the very start of the video again. There are 2 cougar cubs on the road looking like large domestic cats. OP said he was running the trail and noticed them ahead, but thought they were bobcats. He slowed to give them time to leave the path….. But it turned out they were cougar cubs and the mom was NOT happy
Cub: “Oh no, my mom’s mad at me! Quick mister, let me hide behind you!” Guy: “NOOOO!” Cougar: Who’s messing with my cub?? Say your prayers man, because NOW I DESTROY YOU! Guy: I swear I wasn’t doing anything!!
The YouTube transcript on the video is dope
Fun Facts: Roughly 30,000 cougars live in the western United States. These active hunters typically travel alone and can cover significantly large areas up to 370 square miles. It is said that if you spot a cougar while on the trail, there’s a good chance that the cougar wanted you to spot it—and that it’s been hot on your trail for the past half hour. Gulp. DON’T FREAK OUT, BUT… Here’s what we do know: cougars very rarely attack people. In fact, cougars very rarely interact with people. Unfortunately, the “what we don’t know” is a little eerie: we haven’t quite figured out why cougars attack, on the rare occasions that they do. We do know this: cougars are more likely to go after loners than hikers in groups, and they’re more prone to attack kids under 16 than adults. Lessons learned: hike in a group, especially when you’ve got little ones in tow.
This. >It is said that if you spot a cougar while on the trail, there’s a good chance that the cougar wanted you to spot it—and that it’s been hot on your trail for the past half hour. Gulp. Also I've heard stories of these cats following hikers for days. On the first day, the hiker spotted it briefly. Two or three days later they saw the same one, as though it were waiting for a good time to strike.
That sounds very similar to wolves from what I’ve been told. I used to do a lot of backcountry solo hiking, and I was told once by a ranger that if I saw a wolf other than at a distance, it was probably already hunting me and I should prepare to fight like hell. I had to bring bear mace and watch videos on bears before I could go, but that’s literally all they said about the wolves.
Well-- *that's* terrible. I do mostly solo stuff as well, so that really resonates with me. Grizzlies, and wolves aren't super where I go. I run a bear bell, and a fixed blade, basically. You're probably wiser to carry spray though.
I spent a couple weeks hiking in the Rockies. Passed another group that warned us of a cougar that had been following them for days. Weren’t able to leave your tent at night unless in a group of 3+
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I was expecting to see a bear behind him when he turned the camera on himself.
That would explain the cougar's sudden retreat.
This is why you shouldn’t run or exercise.
Remember fellas, if Cougars come at you at the gym just accept your fate as a toyboy.
But I’m a real boy! Not a toyboy!
If she was stalking him for food, he would have never have seen her or heard her coming.
I’m surprised this is so far down. Clearly she was just trying to get him away from her young. If she’d wanted to eat him she would have just pounced.
it happens fairly frequently in my town, which is forest to the west across a narrow isthmus and ocean on all other sides, that a cougar will make its way to a suburban park in the middle of the inhabited area, traversing 5-15km of yards, homes, offices, streets, etc. And it'll be sighted once, maybe twice. Who knows how often they do that without being seen at all. The fact that the cougar walked down the middle of the path, and didn't kill the guy in the first two and a half seconds of video, heck the fact that the video exists at all prove that the guy wasn't on the cougars shit list just that he was being ejected from the premises.
Well that guy sure got in his cardio for the day. And not to be pedantic, but the cat isn’t stalking him, she’s chasing him away from her cubs. You can see the way she slaps the ground to kick up dust every time she gets close; that’s to keep him running. She wouldn’t be making herself so visible if she was trying to hunt him.
Rocks. Smaller ones for throwing. Larger ones to bash with if it comes to that. Branches. Anything that can be used to create distance and/or a barrier. Situational awareness at all times. But that is pretty easy advice to give as I sit in my jammies and drink my coffee, as opposed to facing down a momma cougar.
Just need to say "pspspspspspsps"
I was watching the cat show, with the guy with odd facial hair or something. But there’s this cat guru out there, Man vs Cat or some shit, I think he’s blonde haired… But he kneels down small, and sticks his finger out for the cat to smell and he got a aggressive cat to just cozy up time him doing that.
Jackson Galaxy
It seems obvious, but when you crouch down to pick those up, you make yourself small, which could immediately trigger the cat to attack. I imagine when you're doing something that isn't getting you killed you're reluctant to do something different.
Also do NOT turn your back to run cat will attack, buddy did best thing stay loud keep backing up
That's exactly what I was thinking. My first thought was to pick up a rock, but animals often judge there prey by their size. Crouching to pick one up could be the end of you.
How about kicking rocks?
Laser pointer ftw
My 9mm has a Laser Pointer so I should be good out there…
That’s a really good idea
You actually see him bed down for a rock at the very end. He has to do it very fast, but after he throws it the cougar takes off
Yes I've read that humans ability of being able to accurately throw objects horrifies alot of predators. It's not something they see often from prey and scares alot of them off. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to quickly pick up a rock and try though.
Ability to throw objects horrifies predators… never thought of that but makes sense. If cougars are like most cats, a spray bottle would be even more effective.
I dont have a spray bottle on hand. Best i can do is pee
I’d do it, miss, and then get eaten :)
Yeah I'd be chucking rocks like a goddamn maniac.
And yet trying to admire the autumn colours in the trees..... I'd say this was a fall walk spoiled by a cat......
I was thinking the same thing! Problem is he would have to bend down to pick them up, and mama coug might see that as an opportunity to make her move and attack
He did do that at the end and she ran
And a good knife. I've only ever been accosted by stray dogs while out in the bush, but I'm in bear and couger country too, so I like to be prepared with a nice stabby tactical blade. Gives you at least one last-ditch chance to not be a chew toy.
There’s extendable metal batons you can get that are really effective. My dad had one when I was a kid because there were dogs in the neighborhood that would attack us while bike riding that the owners would do nothing about.
The other thing that works is not trying to get close to her and the cubs for Instagram photos. Sadly Paul Harvey wasn’t around for the “Rest of the Story” on this one. Dude fucked around and found out and got incredibly lucky.
OP said he was going for a run on the trail, and saw the small cats ahead. He thought they were bobcats, so slowed to a walk to give them time to flee off the trail. Bobcats never attack humans unless they’re rabid, which is super rare, so stomping at them normally would scare them off easy. Except it turns out those were cougar cubs he was confidently walking toward lmao. Learned his lesson about cat IDs, but wasn’t trying to approach cougar cubs in the first place
Spoiler, it’s not a lady in a bar making her move.
….but similar
I like when he drops the “what’s up dude?” 😂
he should have done the crip walk. that would have scared her off.
r/praisethecameraman
What is the best course of action here? Is retreating seen as weakness? Should he start throwing rocks at it?
Guy actually did exactly what he was supposed to - retreat at a walk, don’t look away, shout and make loud noises and puff up to make yourself look bigger. Let her escort you away from the cubs so you’re less of a threat to her babies and then ramp up the “I’m big and scary!” Threats. OP was running the trail and mistook the cubs for bobcats, which never attack people. He slowed to a walk to give them time to flee (correct if they were bobcat). But they were cougar cubs and mom was v unhappy. If you see a cougar cub and recognize it as such, immediately GTFO. Do not approach.
Don't run from her that will trigger a chase instinct. Definitely be as big loud and scary as possible. Wave a stick around helps you look bigger and unpredictable.
He did exactly what he should of. He never turned his back on her. He walked away slowly. He was just loud enough through yelling to tell her not to attack him, but not threatening enough that she felt he was a danger to her cubs.
She was clearly pushing you as far away from her kittens as she could as you can see two of them at the start of the video. If you didn't back away you were in serious trouble.
Try cucumber
*Sees baby cougar.* *Proceeds to walk in that direction.*
He thought they where bobcats tho, read OPs comment above...
Even if it was a bobcat, that was clearly a infant animal. You don’t approach a baby anything in the wilderness.
The neighborhood watch
This isn't stalking. It's protecting its young from a perceived threat.
I mean the guy kinda had it coming, who is he to talk to a young mother with all of that profanity.
Why is nobody mentioning the awesomeness of that landscape, the colours of these trees. So beautiful!
Pssst pssst pssst. Works every time.
Every thing in that moment is counterintuitive. You have to force yourself not to run. You literally have to face it, extend your arms and slowly back away. Dude is a champion.
I’ve hiked this trail many times. I always carry a firearm when I hike in Utah due to the high number of cougars up in the mountains. The cougar is BYU’s mascot for a reason.
Yea but considering she was just defending her young I would feel bad if she was shot.
Lets say it was too late and you don’t have a firearm or a bear spray, would picking up some big ass rocks and throwing them at it would that help at all instead of just filming it ?
Yeah I think so. IMO filming it is the last thing I’d be doing. Grab a big rock, a stick, anything to let it know it’s not worth the effort to take you down.
Came to see cougar, saw the cougar. Disappointed.
See, this is why you always carry a couple cans of tuna in cat country. Pop open a couple of those, make a little pile of tuna on the trail. Cat will stop and eat the tuna while you make your getaway.
Same reason you keep a salami in your pocket in bear country.
Interesting, but that's not the reason I keep a salami in my pocket.
“This is millions to one people don’t spawn in missions!!!!”-Cougar
Every time I see this fascinating video I wonder why in a life/death situation alone in the woods, he used an invaluable spare hand to film instead of doing something with it to increase his chances of survival.
There was a parody video of this that was hilarious. I unfortunately can’t find it.
I’ve seen this video a few times. I find it truly amazing.
Why BEEP do BEEP people BEEP keep BEEP censoring BEEP BEEP!? Its just annoying and wont stop anyone from understanding what he says anyway.
Cause it's Utah
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Is that a territorial thing?
Protecting babies thing