Probably wandered too close to its den. Likely a mom with kittens. The danger of hiking off trail. Can’t say I blame the cat. It was doing what it evolved to do.
Probably wandered too close to its den. Likely a mom with kittens. The danger of hiking off trail. Can’t say I blame the cat. It was doing what it evolved to do.
If the second guys got killed there is likely they would never been found. The cat will hide the kill, leave the bones behind, all off trail. Two missing people, whereabouts unknown.
Some time ago there was a runner who never returned from a run on a very hot day in the Bay Area. They failed to find him after searching for many weeks. Several months later someone decided to check a rarely used side trail, his body was found a few hundred yards later under a tree. Side trails should have been checked during the first search. That he wasn't hard to find along the a side trail is disturbing because no one looked. Now image how hard it is to find someone who has gone off trail and is deep in the wilderness.
I always dream of a mountain lion attacking me and my dog. I know I could fight it off. Someone would get a phone recording of it and I’d be all over the news beating a mounting lion up. I come across coyotes pretty often and I charge them and they run away because they know I’m a professional UFC fighter. A mountain lion would be no challenge for me. I’d step aside and break its ribs then snap all four legs before it can bite me. Easy peasy.
You'd immediately get cancelled by the left and your life would be ruined. Be careful for what you wish.
Where does it say anything about a dead deer? Do you know something from another article?
They were shed hunting. I'm sure you city folks don't know what that means but it doesn't have anything to do with a dead deer.
Where does it say anything about shed hunting? Do you know something from another article?
The second sentence of the linked article and the first sentence of the original post in this thread. That's where it said they were shed hunting. You didn't read that but you made up a mythical dead deer that the cat was protecting?
ok, look, even if you don't have a weapon, all you really need is to understand cat psychology.
A cat will decide to be passive or aggressive based on your body posture. Be tall, act like you might attack at any second, take advantage of any sign of weakness to intimidate it.
it depends if the cat has cubs or not. most wild cats protecting their young will attack you no matter how big you make yourself look. your best chance in those circumstances is to run as far away as fast as you can so the cat sees you as less of a threat.
true, but a cat won't bring its cubs to hunt people. It has to defend them only against someone who somehow manages to sneak up close and surprise it.
That's why in the woods you also make plenty of noise, hoot and holler every so often so nobody is surprised.
"The younger brother called 911 at 1:13 pm to report being separated from his older brother during the attack, officials said."
In other words, younger brother abandoned older brother to his fate.
You don't just "get separated" during an attack.
Horrifying behavior.
I'm sure you, a 120lb distance runner, would have bravely fought off the mountain lion.
An adult mountain lion can weigh from 60 lbs to over 200 lbs.
"A healthy adult mountain lion can weigh as little as 64 pounds or as much as 220 pounds, creating a large diversity in the overall average mountain lion size.."
That's why in the woods you also make plenty of noise, hoot and holler every so often so nobody is surprised.
in the jungle here in Thailand the guides will carry a stick and tap it on branches and rocks as they walk so that cobras and other venomous snakes have time to notice you and move away from the trail before you get close to them. especially when walking by a river bed or stream because the flowing water drowns the sound and vibrations from your footsteps.
Sometimes family or friends can fight the beast off, sometimes they can’t, all just like in the wild in nature. Big cats are way too strong for their size.
‘Fight, flight, or freeze, they say, and these women fought. One had a two-inch knife and used it to stab the wild cat – to little avail. Cyclist Annie Bilotta, 64, tried to choke the cat. “That was like choking a rock,” she said. “It did absolutely nothing.”’
There are precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of these kinds of outcomes. Bear Spray is one and I have bought some and bring it along, and it comes with a holster worn on the outside of your coat or jacket for quick retrieval should you need it,
Another thing is a Compact Satellite Communicator, and we got one of those also which works to send interactive SOS alerts anytime, globally. It is not dependent on cell phone coverage areas. It is a completely separate stand alone device, and we got the Garmin inReach® Mini Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator. A device like that may have made the difference between life and death in situations like this and others.
There are precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of these kinds of outcomes. Bear Spray is one and I have bought some and bring it along, and it comes with a holster worn on the outside of your coat or jacket for quick retrieval should you need it,
Another thing is a Compact Satellite Communicator, and we got one of those also which works to send interactive SOS alerts anytime, globally. It is not dependent on cell phone coverage areas. It is a completely separate stand alone device, and we got the Garmin inReach® Mini Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator. A device like that may have made the difference between life and death in situations like this and others.