Mountain lion kills mountain biker in Washington

[Doofy]

Polar Bear speed 27MPH, Black Bear 30MPH, Brown Bear 35MPH. Usain Bolt's top speed was 27Mph.

Most of us would be lucky to be half or a third as fast as Bolt and after a a day or so we would be bear scat.

Cougars have been rated at up to 50MPH so no chance running from them at all except maybe the middle aged lady kind.

Nice. I couldn't outrun a snail or a turtle these days. I would be posing as bear bait. Maybe that is why people are always inviting me on their hikes. Hmmm

 

[rgr33]

I have had a juvenile cougar, maybe 150 lbs, walk within 40 feet of me while working in my vineyard twice over the last 4 years. Both times, the cougar was well aware of my presence. But was not concerned and was just passing through on the way down to the woods carrying a fat squirrel
.
I watched it casually jump my 7.5 foot deer fence like it was no big deal. There are hiking trails all through the woods here that people use every week. I rarely go down there, but its easy to find bear signs all over the place. Most of the people in this area are mini mansion owners without a clue of what roams the area at night. Postings all over the place looking for their cats that suddenly disappeared.

 

[Doofy]

Hahahaha. Perhaps Alf has returned.

 

[AWSubie]

My property is located in cougar habitat and I've never seen one. The cougar's behavior described in this article seems pretty out of the ordinary (unfortunate for the bikers, wrong place, wrong time).

 

[Jstpssng]

There's more coming out about this. Cougar attack: 1 dead, 1 injured near North Bend in Washington state - The Washington Post
It looks like he and his partner were pursued for a ways. Some type of weapon could have saved him in this case.

 

[Molalla1]

Bummer.

Read the article, found this part interesting

"Officials with the department offer this advice for anyone who encounters a cougar in the wild:

• Stop, stand tall and don't run. Pick up small children. Don't run. A cougar's instinct is to chase.
• Do not approach the animal, especially if it is near a kill or with kittens.
• Try to appear larger than the cougar. Never take your eyes off the animal or turn your back. Do not crouch down or try to hide.
• If the animal displays aggressive behavior, shout, wave your arms and throw rocks. The idea is to convince the cougar that you are not prey, but a potential danger.
• If the cougar attacks, fight back aggressively and try to stay on your feet. Cougars have been driven away by people who have fought back."

The dumb question is, if I have my 10MM and I'm in fear for my life and it's not hunting season, am I allowed to shoot the mountain lion?

Shoot the animal, pay the piper later. . .your still alive.

 

[DieselnHooters]

Sometimes I think we need more mountain lions...think about that...

Current estimated cougar/puma/mt lion population is a little less than 50 000 and slightly declining

Human population is 7 600 000 000 and increasing by 200 000 daily

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I see a lot of bears on my property, usually just passing through quickly. We keep one of those "signal horns in a can" real handy on the deck. It's a marine distress signal, makes a piercing noise that carries far. For the bears' safety (so they don't get comfortable around humans) and ours, every time we see one we blast it off. They always skeedaddle fast as they can. (Also works fairly well with trespassing hunters.)

Attacks being so rare, I don't let fear ruin my time in the woods; might as well move back to the city, eh? But when I'm heading into the woods on foot, I always sing or yell, maybe crack a stick against a tree, then listen. If there's been a recent sighting I might ride the little tractor rather than walk, figuring the noise is some deterrent.

Funny story. My (city) brother was visiting and we had hiked off the property to metal detect an old abandoned home site (with permission). Now my leg was in a brace at the time, and it had started to hurt like he!! so we cut back a shorter way toward the road, along a high grassy ridge. We glance down into one of the dark wooded ravines and spot two small black shapes playing around. "Bear cubs" I whisper (and I'm thinking "where's mom?" + "****, I can barely walk") so I start humping that bum leg up the ridge toward the road, using the metal detector as a crutch (and last-ditch weapon?) and making darn good time. Once I have a good head start I quietly and calmly mention that he might want to get moving too (idgit is still back there taking pictures). I swear I swarmed over that 5 foot gate in one motion, stiff-leg and all.

 

[Doofy]

Have often thought that an air horn may work well for scaring bears. Normally, we both carry a 9oz can of bear spray when out hiking, hunting or fishing. Bear spray is cheap, lightweight and quick to release. I sometimes carry a .44 also but that's for me just in case the bear spray fails me.

 

[/pine]

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