Mountain lion encounters are extraordinarily uncommon, and assaults are even rarer. You’re extra prone to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. Whereas assaults could also be a statistic rarity, mountain lions vary throughout 14 states and understanding learn how to keep protected in encounter is effective data for any outside adventurer.
Mountain lions are very quiet, elusive, and sometimes present in areas with satisfactory cowl so recognizing one could be very troublesome. In areas often called mountain lion habitat you need to keep away from mountaineering alone and ensure children are supervised by adults and stored shut. In the event you spot one you need to keep calm, maintain your floor, and again away slowly if potential.
Trevor Rasmussen was mountaineering in Glacier Nationwide Park when he noticed a mountain blocking his path simply 50 toes down the path. Fortunately he seen to mountain earlier than he obtained too shut.
Trevor remained calm, stood his floor and made noise in an try and scare off the mountain lion. He accurately didn’t proceed in direction of the cat, nor run away which may set off a chase intuition. He additionally had a can of bear spray on him however happily he didn’t must deploy it.
In the event you see a mountain lion:
- Keep calm. Maintain your floor or again away slowly. Face the lion and stand upright.
- Don’t method a lion. By no means method a mountain lion, particularly one that’s feeding or with kittens. Most mountain lions will attempt to keep away from a confrontation. Give them a strategy to escape.
- Don’t run from a lion. Operating could stimulate a mountain lion’s intuition to chase. As an alternative, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If in case you have babies with you, decide them up, if potential, in order that they don’t panic and run. Though it might be awkward, decide them up with out bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
- Don’t crouch down or bend over. Biologists surmise mountain lions don’t acknowledge standing people as prey. Alternatively, an individual squatting or bending over appears to be like quite a bit like a four-legged prey animal. In the event you’re in mountain lion habitat, keep away from squatting, crouching, or bending over, even when choosing up kids.
If the mountain lion strikes in your path or acts aggressively:
- Do all you’ll be able to to look intimidating.
- Try to look bigger by elevating your arms and opening your jacket if you’re carrying one. Wave your arms slowly and converse firmly in a loud voice.
- If wanting larger doesn’t scare the mountain lion off, with out crouching or turning your again, begin throwing stones, branches, or no matter you’ll be able to attain in its path (i.e., towards it, however indirectly at it). Intention for the bottom in entrance of it; don’t throw issues straight at it simply but. Consider these as warning pictures. You aren’t desirous to hit and unnecessarily injure the mountain lion, however you do wish to present it that you would be able to defend your self and doubtlessly injure it. And that may hopefully deter it from approaching any nearer.
With that stated, your security is of the utmost significance and the Nationwide Park Service gained’t essentially prosecute you for harassment of wildlife if one thing you throw at an aggressive mountain lion does make contact. Once more, throughout the preliminary levels of a mountain lion encounter, the thought is to persuade the mountain lion that you’re not prey and that you could be be a hazard to it.
One may ask: “How do I attain stones or branches with out bending down?” In case you are in a trailcut, you may get rocks to throw from the facet of the trailcut. In case you are in a wooded space, you may be capable of discover a unfastened department inside attain, or be happy to interrupt branches off of bushes or shrubs, if mandatory. In case you are with others, the shorter/smaller people may bend down shut behind taller/larger people (make it look as a lot as potential like you might be all one huge animal) and supply the taller/larger people with rocks or sticks to throw. Nonetheless, stones and branches could not all the time be readily inside attain. However you’ll in all probability be carrying a backpack or fanny pack containing laborious objects that may be thrown, like water bottles, and you may retrieve these whereas remaining upright to make use of as projectiles. However don’t throw all the pieces you may have, although. You may wish to maintain on to at least one metallic or laborious plastic water bottle in reserve to make use of as a membership or as weight in your backpack or fanny pack, which could be swung on the cat if it will get shut sufficient. So, most hikers may have some choices, even when they’ll’t bend down to select up rocks or sticks.
If the mountain lion continues to maneuver in your path:
- Begin throwing issues AT it. Once more, your security is extra necessary than the mountain lion’s, so you need to be happy to proceed to escalate the extent of hostility to intimidate and scare off the mountain lion. Initially throughout this stage, goal for its physique as precisely as you’ll be able to, however keep away from aiming at its head. Aiming at its head may consequence within the cat being blinded in a single eye, which may make it extra harmful to different hikers who later go to the park. Mountain lions are very dependent upon their sight—notably depth notion—so as to efficiently hunt their pure prey. Most of the comparatively few assaults by mountain lions on people within the USA are by people who’re injured, confused, and/or hungry. A hungry, confused mountain lion with just one good eye, upon observing an abundance of gradual, incessantly inattentive* bipeds on park trails could assault certainly one of us people, hoping for a simple meal. (* Put your earbuds and sensible telephone away and benefit from the pure quiet when you hike.)
If the mountain lion assaults you:
- Battle again! A hiker in Southern California used a rock to fend off a mountain lion that was attacking his son. Others have fought again efficiently with sticks, caps, jackets, backyard instruments, and their naked fingers. Since a mountain lion normally tries to chunk the pinnacle or neck, attempt to stay standing and face the attacking animal. Additionally, in case you have a backpack, attempt to place it to function physique armor or a protect.
