Don't run. Don't act like prey.
Here's what to do if you encounter a mountain lion.
Here's what to do if you encounter a mountain lion.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00You should not run away or make any sudden movements.
00:05Running can trigger a predator's instinct to chase.
00:09You'd never want to run from a mountain lion.
00:16Mountain lions span huge areas in the Americas.
00:20And so we call mountain lions, mountain lions, cougars, panthers, catamounts.
00:26They have a bunch of different names, but we're talking about the species Puma concolor.
00:38It is extremely rare to be attacked by a mountain lion.
00:43But when encounters do occur, the incidents really are highly sensationalized.
00:48I've never seen an animal attach onto something like that and not let go.
00:53Police say they found the cougar actually standing on top of Brooks's body.
00:57It was eventually euthanized after they tracked it down.
00:59Mountain lions really don't want anything to do with us.
01:03The fact of the matter is, is that mountain lions see humans all the time.
01:08And we just don't see them.
01:10You just want to make sure that you do not run away or make sudden movements.
01:25You want to stay together and not turn your back on or crouch down in front of the cougar.
01:33If you're hiking with small children, you want to make sure that you pick those children up.
01:38And if you're hiking with your pet, which I know a lot of people do.
01:41If you have a small dog, make sure you pick up your small dog without turning away or crouching down.
01:47And if your dog is too big to pick up, what you want to do is you want to bring them as close as possible and hold them on a leash beside you.
02:03You may want to give the cougar an escape route.
02:05So oftentimes when encounters do occur on a trail, a mountain lion also doesn't want to turn its back to you.
02:16You want to make sure you look big, as big as possible, that you don't look like prey.
02:21You can extend your arms, you can extend trekking poles or open up your jacket.
02:26You also want to speak to the cougar in a firm and a loud voice.
02:32The main message is that, hey, I see you and I am not prey.
02:40You can always deploy an air horn or bear spray.
02:43If you don't hike with air horn or bear spray, you want to throw whatever you can at the lion.
02:50If you have a water bottle, if there's rocks on the ground, if you have trekking poles,
02:55you can throw something at a cougar to try and kind of disrupt it from approaching you.
03:05You want to fight back in the extremely rare case that a cougar does attack.
03:10Previous incidents that have occurred when somebody has actually been able to react to a mountain lion attack,
03:16they have been successful at warding off a cougar.
03:19And I was able to kind of shift my weight and get a foot on its neck.
03:24Another couple of minutes later, it finally, finally stopped moving.
03:27And then jaws opened and I was able to kind of scramble back up the hill.
03:31I think a main takeaway when hiking in cougar habitat is really being aware of your surroundings, not hiking with earbuds in.
03:40And if a mountain lion sees you, it's just really important for them to know that you are not prey.
03:45So don't act like prey. Don't run. Don't crouch down.
03:49You are a predator just like they're a predator.
03:55Mountain lions once had the most expansive range of any terrestrial mammal in the Americas.
04:02In the United States, though, their range has been reduced to 15 Western states and a small remnant population in Florida.
04:12Scientists predict that some cougar populations in Southern California could be extinct in less than 50 years.
04:19This extinction vortex is driven by genetic isolation caused by habitat loss and fragmentation.
04:26So cougars trying to navigate roads and freeways are often hit by vehicles.
04:33In these areas, they also fall victim to rat poison because they share so much of their landscape with people.
04:39They also come into conflict with domestic animals.
04:42About 100 mountain lions are killed every year in California after what's called a depredation event or when a mountain lion kills pets or livestock.
04:52Their kills provide a reliable food source for scavengers like the critically endangered California condor, for example.
05:00Mountain lions also exert such a substantial impact on the environment that the number of songbirds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles that live in the area are reduced.
05:13Mountain lions also exert such a substantial impact on the environment that the number of songbirds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, rare native plants, and butterflies would potentially diminish if this apex predator were lost.
05:31It's really important that we all take steps to coexist with mountain lions and other native predators.
05:37They're so important to the ecosystem.
05:39Know what to do when you see a cougar, know how to recreate safely in cougar habitat, and protect your pets and livestock if you live in areas where mountain lions roam.