How to Prevent a Mountain Lion from Attacking You

If you walk in mountain lion territory, you should know how to react if you stumble upon a mountain lion. It could save your life. I have been walking in mountain lion territory in Northern California for nearly 20 years and I have never seen a mountain lion, even when they have been reported in the near vicinity. This is probably because I know precautions that can be taken to deter mountain lions. The key to preventing a mountain lion from attacking you if you stumble upon one is to remember that mountain lions will rarely attack a creature, including a human, unless they feel confident they can overpower that creature.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Walking stick (absolutely)

1. When walking in mountain lion territory, carry a walking stick. The mountain lion may think the stick is part of your body and it will feel intimidated by a creature with 5 limbs. If it recognizes the stick as separate from your body, it will hesitate to attack a creature with a weapon. You can also tie a handkerchief to the top end of the stick. This will flap around and make the mountain lion even more worried about how much damage you can do to it if it attacks you.

2. Keep the back of your neck covered (with hair, a scarf, a hat, a hood, etc.). If the mountain lion can see the back of your neck, then it gains confidence that it can overpower you, since the back of the neck signals vulnerability. If you are walking in a location where a mountain lion or a fresh kill was recently sighted, you may want to take extra precautions, which would include 1) walking with another person (two against one are odds that a mountain lion won’t want to try) and 2) wearing a cheap Halloween mask backwards around your neck so that you appear to have faces in the front and the back of your head (mountain lions don’t like to attack from the front).

3. If you actually see a mountain lion, do not run away. The mountain lion perceives vulnerability in creatures that run away from it. Do not turn your back on it. If it does not retreat and you want to move away from it, back away. Always face the mountain lion. Remember, it is not likely to attack unless it thinks it can beat you. So make yourself as big as possible. Flap your arms in the air. Wave your stick. Growl, shout, and act ferocious. Instruct children to pick sticks up off the ground and wave them to make their arms look longer. If you are with a small child, you should put the child on your shoulders so that you look like a combined tall and powerful creature.

4. Although I live in mountain lion country, I refuse to be intimidated. I walk every morning in a beautiful piece of wild land, both for exercise and spiritual renewal. I refuse to give up my walk because there might be a mountain lion out there. These creatures are timid by nature and I suspect that they are often watching me when I can’t see them. But I never give them cause to consider me prey and we manage to live peacefully side by side.