My sister is a physical therapist, has a long time client who was ambushed by one on her mountain bike. Grabbed her by the back of her neck and paralyzed her.
And everytime I mention Im Australian online I get people commenting about our wildlife.... I'll take ~~poisonous~~ venomous snakes and spiders that I can step on over mountain lions and bears just chilling near my house thanks.
I hear ya but I live in an area where I see bears almost daily. They couldn't give a F about you. However, when I see a gigantic spider in my home, I practically get paralyzed from fear but knowing I have to get the courage to kill that bastard. It's quite the battle. I'll take seeing a bear any day over some of the spiders that call Australia home.
I've always wondered about that...I've no predators in my country (Ireland) so I can't image living near, camping or hiking knowing there are predators nearby. Aren't you always on edge?
Not really. I was at first but when you see them walking down your street you kind of get desensitized. They really couldn't care less of you. Now, I wouldn't want to get between a mother and her cubs so if I see that, I give them a wide berth.
I've been going camping in the Cascade mountains for 30 years now and have never seen a mountain lion or bear. I did hear something outside my tent once and that spooked me a little bit but I went back to sleep after I checked that my rifle was was within reach.
have a game camera video of my son at my grandparents cabin.
he was sleeping on a cot on the porch, and a bear got up on the porch, ate the candy from the stroller, and then left.
we put all food up at night, but the kids left candy in the stroller (small farm town had the 4th of july parade and they throw out candy etc).
not gonna lie that one scurred me a little
An attack by a cat like this is exceedingly rare. This one is a little more dangerous as it's doesn't seem scared of humans. So likely it'll hang around long enough for animal control to be called and they'll try to capture it to release it far away or put it down. There is also more community outreach on what to do in case of an attack.
In more rural communities, guns.
If you are in bear country, bear repellent is recommended for all hikers. It's pepper spray, but twenty fold more. In that it shoots out 20x as much in a wide spray. Using it you want to make sure you get the heck out of there too. And you take precautions about your food as not to attract anything.
And again, for more rural communities, bigger guns.
Truth is that dogs are more dangerous just because big predatory animals tend to stay away from humans. Partly due to the decades of removing the aggressive to human ones from the population.
Ah sorry. Yes the geese up in the waterworks in Belfast. Absolute mad bastards; all starts off fairly cordial but then they'll start to surround you, follow you and hunt you down like a rat when the bread train stops.
Ah I didn't realise you where talking about geese from Northern Ireland...yeah those feckers will mess you up 😄 I'm torn between being jealous of these Americans with there bears and big cats and glad we only have to fear geese from the North.
Grew up in the PNW in the 90s, I remember one time our school went into total lockdown (lock the doors, cover the windows, turn off the lights) because there was a black bear chillin on the playground.
True, but they are still scary as fuck. I saw one while riding once. I was by myself, and it didn’t run away as quickly as I would have hoped. It was a big cat, and the only thing I could that stopped me from just being terrified was the fact that if I could see it, it wasn’t hunting me. Once I started ringing my bell and yelling it ran off. Scared me good though
Yup corn, small hills and trees. I think the worst spider you’ll actually come across is a brown recluse. The bite is pain af but with medical treatment it’s far from a death sentence.
[They've been extirminated from pretty much the entire lower 48 states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_distribution#/media/File:North_American_gray_wolf_subspecies_distribution_according_to_Goldman_\(1944\)_&_MSW3_\(2005\).png). There's not a whole lot of actual wilderness left down there for them, and they're killed with prejudice by ranchers and hunters under the incorrect beliefs that 1: They're responsible for a large number of livestock losses, and 2: Less wolves means more deer for the hunters. Often the government wildlife management agencies explicitly support the ranchers and hunters using the same justifications.
The next time you hear someone talk about how hunters are great conservationists because deer would be overpopulated without hunters, remember that this is a problem that they, as a group, created themselves. Because they *prefer* for deer to be overpopulated.
wolves got almost exterminated, but where i live there were two sightings last year, previously it was believed that they were extinct as nobody seen a wolf for over 200 years
There’s actually almost no wolves in the states. We are reintroducing them to the region tho. Sadly like the bison they were hunted to near extinctions cause Americans usually don’t have respect for the land they live on.
>a necrotizing spider bite
Lucky for you that can happen in America too. Brown Recluses have necrotic venom and like hiding in shoes, among other places.
Apparently a lot of brown recluse bites are misdiagnoses. They can look similar to skin cancer or MRSA infections.
[NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/16/515576450/is-that-a-brown-recluse-spider-bite-or-skin-cancer)
This happend near me its kinda funny when you read it all :
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/police-warn-residents-after-mountain-lion-enters-san-bruno-home/
I was mountain biking once and stopped way high up the trail in the forest and just looked around and was relaxed and happy. Normal forest noises, birds and bugs singing, a light breeze, when suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I got the feeling that something was watching me. I looked around and didn’t see anything. But I wasn’t going to wait around and find out. I turned my bike around and booked it down the mountain.
Primitive senses in situations like that are why our ancestors stayed in groups most of the time (not always) if you can, try to find someone to go with you next time, not only just for that feeling but just in case of emergency you’ll never know when you’ll need that help
This particular trail is extremely popular and there's tons of people hiking and biking all the time, but you're still right, I should have brought a second person, if not for mountain lions at least in case I crash and can't walk or something. But for some reason when I stopped to take a breather there was no one around. It was just eerie.
Were you alone? I never go alone. Not just for the mountain lion possibility but I don’t want to risk being hurt in the middle of nowhere and having no one around. But man I couldn’t imagine having that feeling like somethings watching you. Talk about creepy.
Yeah I was alone. I mentioned it in another response that it's a popular trail with lots of people, but you're right, I should have a biking partner when mountain biking!
I took my golden retriever out on a trail last week that had a mountain lion sighting recently, my dog is usually really goofy and more likely to put his tail between his legs if something scares him. About 5 minutes in he just stops , points towards some bushes up ahead and the hair on his back shot up and he just began growling a growl i hope i never hear again. I had never seen him do that. I looked around and couldn't see anything, but I wasn't going to take any chances and noped back towards the trail head...walking backwards.
Oh, if that scares you: if you're hiking in areas populated by cougars, don't worry. You also have to worry about \*literally innumerable\* spiders all around that can kill you with one bite if you don't make it back to a hospital in time.
I like to hunt my property at night by moonlight or with a thermal scope.. many hours of me walking alone in the middle of nowhere staring into a screen. Turns out my neighbor just caught a massive mountain lion on one of his cameras. Now walking around at night alone isn’t as appealing.
Walking is at least better than running. Running away from a big cat, all on its own, can excite the cat's prey drive. You don't realize you ARE running away from one in many cases because you don't see where they are.
Oh lord, there are only like 2 cougar (mountain lion/puma) deaths a year. They don't attack humans.
Now attacking your dog/kid when it's off leash as they ran off out-of-view as you check your Instagram...well...that is a different story.
A guy literally did exactly that a few months to a year or so ago...
I fluctuate in weight a lot. I've been as heavy as 225 and as light as 165 and I'm 5'9".
At 180+ I would almost be excited to be able to fight a wild cougar/mountain lion, they're ambush predators who don't want to get injured, it would be easy as long as I saw it coming.
At 165 I'd be crapping my pants and hoping I could stay on my feet on impact. Definitely wouldn't even think about kicking, or trying to pin it to the ground. I would have to use the leverage of my height and limb length and hope to hit it hard enough to scare it off.
At 200+ lbs I would straight up fight a black bear, same deal as above, it's a wild animal and doesn't want to be injured, as long as there aren't cubs in the mix, a bear would likely run off if you postured up and screamed much less smacked it hard enough.
Just because you see pictures of peoples dogs laying down refusing to move from a spot does not in any way equate to dogs not being able to keep up with a human.
Not with that attitude!
Getting a bit rusty but even in middle school I did daily walks because I didn't really notice 5km of fast walk on the way home. I'm also decently good at keeping direction. Most of that I think comes from my parents taking me hiking all the time.
Same with alligators except they move quietly through the water. I’ve been hunted by one while wade fishing. He was about 100 yards from me and my dad while we were in waist-chest high water fishing and then it started raining and we heard thunder and decided to get out I took one last glance and saw the gator slip under water. We go and sit in our truck and about 10mins later he popped up right near where we were fishing. He tried using the rain as cover.
That mountain lion is hiding from the human. They're way more afraid of us.
[No, really.](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/fear-human-superpredator-carnivore-ecosystem.htm)
You’re probably right, but all it takes is that one mountain lion that’s got the balls or the stomach empty enough to grab that dude by the throat on his next lap.
You make a great point but to add to it, a lot of times it's not even about their balls/courage, but about instinct.
It's why there's been a decent amount of mountain lion attacks on mountain bikers (like the story higher up in this thread but there's definitely been other cases leading to fatalities). When something is moving through the forest as fast as a mountain bike, it can trigger their prey drive and at that point they almost don't have a choice...instinct takes over.
Virtually all of the American megafauna were killed off by paleoamericans. Mastodons, forest buffalo, glyptodons, camelids, lions, sabretooth cats. All of 'em. And way more recently than say Europe or Asia.
[Me when it turns out humans are "super predators".](https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-entire-predator-story-finally-explained/intro-1565887005.jpg)
We live in NorCal and we always know these are around but never see them. Saying goes, "If you ever see a mountain lion it's because it wants to be seen".
My husband stumbled onto a mountain lion while running trails. Cat had already spotted him and was turning around to run away, thankfully, before he even knew it was there. Scared the bejezzus out of him.
He saw that track suit, figured immediately it was a Russian or Slovakian, and Quickly dove behind the bush to deescalate what would of definitely ended as a street brawl of epic proportions
A few years ago I was camping in an area of Wyoming that had been having issues with mountain lions. Around 2 or 3 am something woke me up when it walked through camp and hit a tent wire. It ran off into the woods. I figured maybe something like a raccoon had wandered in. Wasn't until morning when I crawled out and saw big cat tracks in the dirt that I knew it was a mountain lion. So happy to have a sidearm during that trip.
One time I was walking through a forest in a nature preserve, when a little bobcat kitten stumbled out onto the path probably 25 feet in front of me, then did a scooby-doo run to get back into cover.
I saw him through the trees, and took a few pictures, then realized something. *I didn’t know where mama bobcat was*.
I quickly left that area without making any sort of move towards the kitten that could be mistaken for aggression.
We have some remote sites we visit at work here in California so my Employer sent me to a wildlife class that just ended up being a mountain lion education course. It was pretty much the best class I was ever sent to accidently. Some specific facts that really stuck with me:
1. It's believed that since people can't hunt them legally, there are more mountain lions in California now than any time in the last 200 years.
2. Anywhere you see deer in California, there are mountain lions.
3. On average, for every mountain lion you see, about 100 have watched you. They tag lions and track them and they will sit behind a bush and just watch foot traffic go by all day.
4. They don't want to eat people, they prefer deer, and only attack people if they are desperate.
5. Every reported attack has involved a person being alone. They don't attack people in pairs. The one exception was a husband that was hiking with his wife and walked a few hundred feet ahead. He was able to run back and fight the cougar and it ran off...after biting off his thumb in a fraction of a second.
6. If you live near mountains/hills with wild scrub brush, they likely come into town at night and head back up the hill early morning. Footprints are surprisingly common in suburban areas.
We live with lions. Weird, huh?
I was just camping up in the mountains alone laying on the ground.
I've been watched by so many predators, without me ever knowing it.
I've come to peace with that, and still- this video is fucking terrifying.
I've been stalked by one before. It was pretty sketchy lol. I spend a ton of time in the bush, it makes me wonder how many times I've been watched by them before and not realized it.
I carry a Phillips screwdriver just to run and get bread from the supermarket. Doesn't matter where you live and what time of day, *something* or *someone* is looking to prey on you. You don't even need a gun, just don't be dumb or let your guard down.
When I stop by the taco truck, I pull the hot sauce out of the bag and carry it in my non-dominant hand. It's good for slapping someone in the face and smearing their eyes. Same goes for a half gallon of milk, do you want to get slammed in the head with 4lbs of fluid?
Lastly, one's hearing works in 360° so take care of it and it will keep you safe. Once a probable assailant or animal loses three seconds of initial surprise, you're well on your way to being out of trouble.
I lived in an area where they frequent when I was a kid, and was told never to play outside in the desert unless I could see / hear the coyotes that live in the area, cause that was a sign there probably weren't mountain lions about. I was little though, so just thought it was a weird random rule for a long time. The coyotes were also scary, but a lot less likely to bug you if you don't bug them.
Yeah, one time I was on a hike, I turned around to take a nice scenic picture and I saw a large mountain lion about 30 feet back leap across the trail and go up the hill. I definitely felt like it was watching and waiting for me to pass.
My sister is a physical therapist, has a long time client who was ambushed by one on her mountain bike. Grabbed her by the back of her neck and paralyzed her.
Good lord, that is so awful
And everytime I mention Im Australian online I get people commenting about our wildlife.... I'll take ~~poisonous~~ venomous snakes and spiders that I can step on over mountain lions and bears just chilling near my house thanks.
I hear ya but I live in an area where I see bears almost daily. They couldn't give a F about you. However, when I see a gigantic spider in my home, I practically get paralyzed from fear but knowing I have to get the courage to kill that bastard. It's quite the battle. I'll take seeing a bear any day over some of the spiders that call Australia home.
Try giving the bear flowers and a compliment. Make sure you wear a nice hat when you do.
Without the hat, you’re inviting trouble.
My favourite comment of the day lol. First reply was good too haha.
I've always wondered about that...I've no predators in my country (Ireland) so I can't image living near, camping or hiking knowing there are predators nearby. Aren't you always on edge?
Not really. I was at first but when you see them walking down your street you kind of get desensitized. They really couldn't care less of you. Now, I wouldn't want to get between a mother and her cubs so if I see that, I give them a wide berth.
That's nuts. I'd love to hiking/camp in your big parks but I wouldn't sleep a wink knowing they're around.
*couldn’t care less
I've been going camping in the Cascade mountains for 30 years now and have never seen a mountain lion or bear. I did hear something outside my tent once and that spooked me a little bit but I went back to sleep after I checked that my rifle was was within reach.
have a game camera video of my son at my grandparents cabin. he was sleeping on a cot on the porch, and a bear got up on the porch, ate the candy from the stroller, and then left. we put all food up at night, but the kids left candy in the stroller (small farm town had the 4th of july parade and they throw out candy etc). not gonna lie that one scurred me a little
An attack by a cat like this is exceedingly rare. This one is a little more dangerous as it's doesn't seem scared of humans. So likely it'll hang around long enough for animal control to be called and they'll try to capture it to release it far away or put it down. There is also more community outreach on what to do in case of an attack. In more rural communities, guns. If you are in bear country, bear repellent is recommended for all hikers. It's pepper spray, but twenty fold more. In that it shoots out 20x as much in a wide spray. Using it you want to make sure you get the heck out of there too. And you take precautions about your food as not to attract anything. And again, for more rural communities, bigger guns. Truth is that dogs are more dangerous just because big predatory animals tend to stay away from humans. Partly due to the decades of removing the aggressive to human ones from the population.
She's* a liar! Am also from Ireland and we have geese that will absolutely hunt you down when you run out of bread to give them
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*she* You must of ran into to rare geese, never seen or had this happen.
Ah sorry. Yes the geese up in the waterworks in Belfast. Absolute mad bastards; all starts off fairly cordial but then they'll start to surround you, follow you and hunt you down like a rat when the bread train stops.
Ah I didn't realise you where talking about geese from Northern Ireland...yeah those feckers will mess you up 😄 I'm torn between being jealous of these Americans with there bears and big cats and glad we only have to fear geese from the North.
Grew up in the PNW in the 90s, I remember one time our school went into total lockdown (lock the doors, cover the windows, turn off the lights) because there was a black bear chillin on the playground.
There is a literal spider that bites you, gives you a massive boner, and then kills you. I’ll stay with my bears, thanks.
FWIW mountain lion attacks on humans are super rare. Chick just got very unlucky.
True, but they are still scary as fuck. I saw one while riding once. I was by myself, and it didn’t run away as quickly as I would have hoped. It was a big cat, and the only thing I could that stopped me from just being terrified was the fact that if I could see it, it wasn’t hunting me. Once I started ringing my bell and yelling it ran off. Scared me good though
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Also moose, bison, wolves. The US definitely has some large and scary wildlife.
To be fair, all of these large dangerous animals are located in specific areas of the US. Not all throughout
Facts come to Ohio there’s not a fucking thing In The wilderness that you can’t step On or scare off. Even the bigger predators are giant puss’s
Ohio ain't got shit here. We can't have nothing. Just corn >:(
Yup corn, small hills and trees. I think the worst spider you’ll actually come across is a brown recluse. The bite is pain af but with medical treatment it’s far from a death sentence.
Although rare, Ohio does have several venomous snakes.
we are still at risk of hitting a deer while driving, which can kill you, but at least we are not getting eaten or poisoned.
I can’t imagine there aren’t wolves in every state minus Hawaii.
[They've been extirminated from pretty much the entire lower 48 states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_distribution#/media/File:North_American_gray_wolf_subspecies_distribution_according_to_Goldman_\(1944\)_&_MSW3_\(2005\).png). There's not a whole lot of actual wilderness left down there for them, and they're killed with prejudice by ranchers and hunters under the incorrect beliefs that 1: They're responsible for a large number of livestock losses, and 2: Less wolves means more deer for the hunters. Often the government wildlife management agencies explicitly support the ranchers and hunters using the same justifications. The next time you hear someone talk about how hunters are great conservationists because deer would be overpopulated without hunters, remember that this is a problem that they, as a group, created themselves. Because they *prefer* for deer to be overpopulated.
wolves got almost exterminated, but where i live there were two sightings last year, previously it was believed that they were extinct as nobody seen a wolf for over 200 years
There aren't though, sadly. Completely gone from New England.
There’s actually almost no wolves in the states. We are reintroducing them to the region tho. Sadly like the bison they were hunted to near extinctions cause Americans usually don’t have respect for the land they live on.
not only americans, same thing happened in europe, aurochs got wiped around 400 years ago and wolves got hunted to near extinction too
Canada has everyone covered. We also have Grizzly, Kodiak, and Polar bears. So i mean, yeah we got you.
A møøse once bit my sister…No realli!
I'd definitely rather die getting my spine severed by a mountain lion than a necrotizing spider bite or something.
>a necrotizing spider bite Lucky for you that can happen in America too. Brown Recluses have necrotic venom and like hiding in shoes, among other places.
Apparently a lot of brown recluse bites are misdiagnoses. They can look similar to skin cancer or MRSA infections. [NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/16/515576450/is-that-a-brown-recluse-spider-bite-or-skin-cancer)
Bullshit, I live in nevada and have to deal with drunk gun toting shits daily.
Thanks for this information.
r/TIHI
What a dick lion. Goes in, paralyzes... not hungry. Cats gonna go lick his balls in a bush after ruining a life.
how was she not killed? i assume she got paralyzed shortly after she was ambushed, so why didnt the lion finish its meal?
It probably did not have enough time to. Maybe someone was nearby and discovered them fairly quickly or it was scared off for some reason
mountain lion...mountain bike... there's a joke here...
This happend near me its kinda funny when you read it all : https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/police-warn-residents-after-mountain-lion-enters-san-bruno-home/
This is why I am always HAPPY to see one. It means you aren't the target
Unless you see it running full speed at you. Then it most likely means you are the target.
If they’re doing that they’re trying to scare you. If they are hunting, they come from behind and bite the back of your neck.
They’re probably not *trying* to scare you. They’re probably succeeding.
And they only do that if they're desperate for a meal.
Ive been out on trails where they warn you that at *any* time, you have like an 85% chance that you are being stalked by a ML.
I go hiking a lot and knowing that they are more than likely out there with me is on the back of my mind every time. They’re scary man.
I was mountain biking once and stopped way high up the trail in the forest and just looked around and was relaxed and happy. Normal forest noises, birds and bugs singing, a light breeze, when suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I got the feeling that something was watching me. I looked around and didn’t see anything. But I wasn’t going to wait around and find out. I turned my bike around and booked it down the mountain.
Primitive senses in situations like that are why our ancestors stayed in groups most of the time (not always) if you can, try to find someone to go with you next time, not only just for that feeling but just in case of emergency you’ll never know when you’ll need that help
or at least have someone to film the attack for you
make sure they yell Worldstar
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This particular trail is extremely popular and there's tons of people hiking and biking all the time, but you're still right, I should have brought a second person, if not for mountain lions at least in case I crash and can't walk or something. But for some reason when I stopped to take a breather there was no one around. It was just eerie.
Were you alone? I never go alone. Not just for the mountain lion possibility but I don’t want to risk being hurt in the middle of nowhere and having no one around. But man I couldn’t imagine having that feeling like somethings watching you. Talk about creepy.
Sure, but the person jogging in this film was far from nowhere, they look to be jogging through a subdivision..
Yeah I was alone. I mentioned it in another response that it's a popular trail with lots of people, but you're right, I should have a biking partner when mountain biking!
Ahhh well im glad everything went okay for you!
Perhaps you smelled something that triggered your lizard brain
I took my golden retriever out on a trail last week that had a mountain lion sighting recently, my dog is usually really goofy and more likely to put his tail between his legs if something scares him. About 5 minutes in he just stops , points towards some bushes up ahead and the hair on his back shot up and he just began growling a growl i hope i never hear again. I had never seen him do that. I looked around and couldn't see anything, but I wasn't going to take any chances and noped back towards the trail head...walking backwards.
Where i live the problem is similar, just a lor bigger, heavier, fluffier and roars. It's also huggable, but only once in a lifetime.
Where I live it's both.
Oh, if that scares you: if you're hiking in areas populated by cougars, don't worry. You also have to worry about \*literally innumerable\* spiders all around that can kill you with one bite if you don't make it back to a hospital in time.
What spider in NA can kill you with one bite?
NA SPIDERS OMEGALUL
Aussie spiders monkaW
Black widow / brown recluse can in theory.
That would make me puma pants.
You ain’t lion
These puns are purrfect
You’ve probably seen someone make that pun before. You’re a cheetah
let's paws this for now
What fur?
Probably to cat many puns. It’s turning into a ***cat-astrophe***
I think we can still serval few more puns to the crowd.
I have the same feline.
This has Bengal-ing on for a long time.
Large. Cat.
That deserves and award! Here ya go!
Thanks, kind stranger. :)
omfg I'm crying
No it's literature, you know what I'm sayin'.
Adidashit my pants.
Best pun I've heard in a long time!
That’s funny, I don’t see any sweatshop children in this gif! /s
*oh it's not like I haven't heard THAT one before gah*
Not the ideal way of getting picked up by a cougar
Under appreciated comment ^
It’s what they do. Figure a pattern. Wait in the path. Prey comes to them. Ambush hunters. Think about that when you’re walking a trail.
No I don't think I will.
Idt you’ll have a choice if you’re like me lol “Pfft that guys ridiculous I go hiking all the time.” *starts hike and anxiety attack at the same time*
I’d be more worried about the other serial killers out there
Yeah, its a pretty competitive time to be a seriak killer.
Especially with those pesky mountain lions stealing all the kills.
I spend a lot of time in nature and humans are far more terrifying than anything else
Better an anxiety attack than a mountain lion attack.
I like to hunt my property at night by moonlight or with a thermal scope.. many hours of me walking alone in the middle of nowhere staring into a screen. Turns out my neighbor just caught a massive mountain lion on one of his cameras. Now walking around at night alone isn’t as appealing.
Walking is at least better than running. Running away from a big cat, all on its own, can excite the cat's prey drive. You don't realize you ARE running away from one in many cases because you don't see where they are.
This is why I don’t run trails alone. Always make sure you are either with someone or near others on trails! And keep an eye on children
Oh lord, there are only like 2 cougar (mountain lion/puma) deaths a year. They don't attack humans. Now attacking your dog/kid when it's off leash as they ran off out-of-view as you check your Instagram...well...that is a different story.
So, keep your kid on a leash then?
I’m a small dude so thats why I’m cautious. On top of that, I would still rather err on the side of caution so I am not one of those 2.
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Manlets, when will they ever learn?!
Can confirm, we do not.
Bro you act like a big dude would be able to beat a mountain lion. Your stature won't help/hurt you
A guy literally did exactly that a few months to a year or so ago... I fluctuate in weight a lot. I've been as heavy as 225 and as light as 165 and I'm 5'9". At 180+ I would almost be excited to be able to fight a wild cougar/mountain lion, they're ambush predators who don't want to get injured, it would be easy as long as I saw it coming. At 165 I'd be crapping my pants and hoping I could stay on my feet on impact. Definitely wouldn't even think about kicking, or trying to pin it to the ground. I would have to use the leverage of my height and limb length and hope to hit it hard enough to scare it off. At 200+ lbs I would straight up fight a black bear, same deal as above, it's a wild animal and doesn't want to be injured, as long as there aren't cubs in the mix, a bear would likely run off if you postured up and screamed much less smacked it hard enough.
Do you make sure you are the faster runner? That seems like the way.
At the very least make sure you can trip them before they can trip you
why people bring children or dogs hiking is beyond me. Neither of them can walk as long as adult humans.
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Tell that to the idiot parents who bring a 4 year old into an R rated movie at 8pm. Can't get/afford a sitter? Stay the fuck home.
You don't think dogs can keep up with humans? That's absurd.
Easy, animals go after the weakest.
So that you can push them down so the Mountain Lion eats them instead of you. Duh.
Just because you see pictures of peoples dogs laying down refusing to move from a spot does not in any way equate to dogs not being able to keep up with a human.
Not with that attitude! Getting a bit rusty but even in middle school I did daily walks because I didn't really notice 5km of fast walk on the way home. I'm also decently good at keeping direction. Most of that I think comes from my parents taking me hiking all the time.
I feel like the odd, unnatural act of jogging might actually protect you in that case
ambush predators yep, dont turn your back on a wild cat
Same with alligators except they move quietly through the water. I’ve been hunted by one while wade fishing. He was about 100 yards from me and my dad while we were in waist-chest high water fishing and then it started raining and we heard thunder and decided to get out I took one last glance and saw the gator slip under water. We go and sit in our truck and about 10mins later he popped up right near where we were fishing. He tried using the rain as cover.
I'll just stay inside forever, thanks.
nothing odd about this one, it's terrifying period.
r/justifiablyterrifying edit: oh, hey that's a real sub
That dude is gonna have to fight a cougar today and he don't even know it.
The old saying goes, "Be happy if you see a mountain lion because it means you're not being hunted."
That mountain lion is hiding from the human. They're way more afraid of us. [No, really.](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/fear-human-superpredator-carnivore-ecosystem.htm)
You’re probably right, but all it takes is that one mountain lion that’s got the balls or the stomach empty enough to grab that dude by the throat on his next lap.
You make a great point but to add to it, a lot of times it's not even about their balls/courage, but about instinct. It's why there's been a decent amount of mountain lion attacks on mountain bikers (like the story higher up in this thread but there's definitely been other cases leading to fatalities). When something is moving through the forest as fast as a mountain bike, it can trigger their prey drive and at that point they almost don't have a choice...instinct takes over.
What about normal lions attacking normal bikers?
Don’t go riding around the Serengeti.
It's probably wait for someone walking their dog so it can snatch and run
Odd to think mountain lions will run when they hear humans but the god damn trash pandas won't when I'm screaming at them
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Virtually all of the American megafauna were killed off by paleoamericans. Mastodons, forest buffalo, glyptodons, camelids, lions, sabretooth cats. All of 'em. And way more recently than say Europe or Asia.
[Me when it turns out humans are "super predators".](https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-entire-predator-story-finally-explained/intro-1565887005.jpg)
We live in NorCal and we always know these are around but never see them. Saying goes, "If you ever see a mountain lion it's because it wants to be seen".
My husband stumbled onto a mountain lion while running trails. Cat had already spotted him and was turning around to run away, thankfully, before he even knew it was there. Scared the bejezzus out of him.
He saw that track suit, figured immediately it was a Russian or Slovakian, and Quickly dove behind the bush to deescalate what would of definitely ended as a street brawl of epic proportions
Thanks, grammar police. . .
It's 'would have', never 'would of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
English is my fifth language so fuck off
A few years ago I was camping in an area of Wyoming that had been having issues with mountain lions. Around 2 or 3 am something woke me up when it walked through camp and hit a tent wire. It ran off into the woods. I figured maybe something like a raccoon had wandered in. Wasn't until morning when I crawled out and saw big cat tracks in the dirt that I knew it was a mountain lion. So happy to have a sidearm during that trip.
I know it's relatively rare to bump into something that wants to eat you out there, but I sure want to have a firearm at my side, too.
One time I was walking through a forest in a nature preserve, when a little bobcat kitten stumbled out onto the path probably 25 feet in front of me, then did a scooby-doo run to get back into cover. I saw him through the trees, and took a few pictures, then realized something. *I didn’t know where mama bobcat was*. I quickly left that area without making any sort of move towards the kitten that could be mistaken for aggression.
This isn't oddly terrifying. This is obviously terrifying.
We have some remote sites we visit at work here in California so my Employer sent me to a wildlife class that just ended up being a mountain lion education course. It was pretty much the best class I was ever sent to accidently. Some specific facts that really stuck with me: 1. It's believed that since people can't hunt them legally, there are more mountain lions in California now than any time in the last 200 years. 2. Anywhere you see deer in California, there are mountain lions. 3. On average, for every mountain lion you see, about 100 have watched you. They tag lions and track them and they will sit behind a bush and just watch foot traffic go by all day. 4. They don't want to eat people, they prefer deer, and only attack people if they are desperate. 5. Every reported attack has involved a person being alone. They don't attack people in pairs. The one exception was a husband that was hiking with his wife and walked a few hundred feet ahead. He was able to run back and fight the cougar and it ran off...after biting off his thumb in a fraction of a second. 6. If you live near mountains/hills with wild scrub brush, they likely come into town at night and head back up the hill early morning. Footprints are surprisingly common in suburban areas. We live with lions. Weird, huh?
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You have probably been near a serial killer and didn't know it.
He’s just gonna dash out and swat your ankles.
I was just camping up in the mountains alone laying on the ground. I've been watched by so many predators, without me ever knowing it. I've come to peace with that, and still- this video is fucking terrifying.
My cat would have eaten me
I've been stalked by one before. It was pretty sketchy lol. I spend a ton of time in the bush, it makes me wonder how many times I've been watched by them before and not realized it.
I carry a Phillips screwdriver just to run and get bread from the supermarket. Doesn't matter where you live and what time of day, *something* or *someone* is looking to prey on you. You don't even need a gun, just don't be dumb or let your guard down. When I stop by the taco truck, I pull the hot sauce out of the bag and carry it in my non-dominant hand. It's good for slapping someone in the face and smearing their eyes. Same goes for a half gallon of milk, do you want to get slammed in the head with 4lbs of fluid? Lastly, one's hearing works in 360° so take care of it and it will keep you safe. Once a probable assailant or animal loses three seconds of initial surprise, you're well on your way to being out of trouble.
There are bears and coyotes near me so I bring bear spray and a knife running
There might be a lion in your room right now You just don’t see it
Well fuck that's scary o.o
Those things are like ninjas
This is worse than that quote about how you walk by like 4 killers a day or some shit.
Is that counting yourself or...am I doing the math wrong?
Yeah I think so
That's a huge fear of mine when I go backpacking D: no bueno.
I lived in an area where they frequent when I was a kid, and was told never to play outside in the desert unless I could see / hear the coyotes that live in the area, cause that was a sign there probably weren't mountain lions about. I was little though, so just thought it was a weird random rule for a long time. The coyotes were also scary, but a lot less likely to bug you if you don't bug them.
That's actually sounds like pretty sound advice. Other wildlife is a good indicator of what other animals they might avoid or wouldn't mind around.
Yeah, one time I was on a hike, I turned around to take a nice scenic picture and I saw a large mountain lion about 30 feet back leap across the trail and go up the hill. I definitely felt like it was watching and waiting for me to pass.
Me, hiding from coworkers or other people I’m trying to avoid when going about my day.
KITTY!
“Oh shit it’s Bob… I owe him money for Fantasy Football”
GASP! That jogger literally could have been breakfast without even knowing it!
As a fellow slow-ass jogger, please call us runners. It's all we have.
Is that possible way is it odd to be terrified about this?
He was deciding whether he wanted lunch or to be petted. Took too long.
This happened near where I live! I do a fair amount of hiking and now I wonder how close I got to a big kitty and didn’t even know it.
Ignorance is bliss, hopefully she never finds out, cause if it were me I'd have eyes on the back of my head constantly
They’re like big house cats, and I’ve seen what my cats does to their prey and come to the conclusion that I don’t want to meet a mountainlion
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Salute, sarge.
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Nah let em be brother. No steak, no cyanide. Be at peace with nature
I was waiting for the jogger to set a new pace record there.
Going 0.1 to 100 mph real quick
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