Photo: Appfind (Getty)
I have a cat named Damien who enjoys biting my ankles from time to time and leaving marks on me because he’s just a super abusive cat. That said, I’m fine with getting those bites if my other option was to be confronted by a mountain lion. Well that’s exactly what Adam Bartsch had to deal with recently.
Bartsch, from British Columbia, was hanging out on a trail north of the Campbell River on Vancouver Island when he suddenly comes across a 140-pound mountain lion.
“So I just found a shed antler, and there’s a monster, monster tom at 20 meters [65 feet] looking at me. A monster tom cougar. And no, I don’t have a gun. I have nothing. And he is huge,” Bartsch says in the video.
And this mountain lion was all about checking out Bartsch…for over an hour. Check out the intense video below:
According to Bartsch’s wife, her husband actually “three times did scare off the cougar successfully, or at least he thought successfully.”
Eventually the mountain lion left Bartsch in peace and with all his limbs attached, too. But what should you do if you spot a mountain lion on your trail? You should do what I would do and that’s run like you were being chased by an axe murderer. But that wouldn’t be the best move. According to the National Park Service, here’s what you should do.
Stay calm. Hold your ground or back away slowly. Face the lion and stand upright.
Do not approach a lion. Never approach a mountain lion especially one that is feeding or with kittens. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If you have small children with you, pick them up if possible so they don’t panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.
Do not crouch down or bend over. Biologists surmise mountain lions don’t recognize standing humans as prey. On the other hand, a person squatting or bending over looks a lot like a four-legged prey animal. If you’re in mountain lion habitat, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.
h/t UPI
