With wild lands being more and more infringed upon by our ever expanding cities, wild animal attacks are consistently rising in many areas. As we move into their territories, they treat us like they would treat any other animal our size.
Well, adult humans are not small in comparison to mountain lions, and we probably seem even bigger since we stand upright. Although some of the animals they prey upon are large (e.g. mule deer), generally speaking mountain lions avoid humans because we usually do not resemble (through appearance or movement) what they'd typically consider prey. If this were not true, then I think that there would be a lot more attacks than there actually are.
Small children who wander away from adults by themselves may be an exception, however, because they look like easy pickings. In addition, if a mountain lion were desperately hungry, then it may try to kill and eat just about anything that moves. And of course, behaving like prey in some way, such as getting scared and running away, could trigger predation as well. Aside from these causes, some individual mountain lions may be less picky than others when it comes to menu selections, treating us as they would any other animal, as you pointed out--individuals that exhibit this trait (they're all different, just like us) are typically hunted down and killed by rangers in order to prevent further predation on humans. My point is that it's not typical, although it does happen occasionally.
One situation that I've heard of often enough to ponder many times over the years is this scenario:
A couple are hiking and one is attacked by a mountain lion. The other does everything they can to scare, beat, fight it off, but the wild cat is in kill mode and almost impervious to distraction or pain.
It varies with the individual cat, its circumstances, and the general circumstances of the incident--sometimes they're easy to scare or beat off, while at other times you'd swear that it was a personal vendetta as opposed to merely a surprise lunch date (often easily canceled).
Most often the cat is latched onto the victim's face (covering the nose and mouth) or neck (throat or back of neck) and has no intention of releasing its bite until the victim expires.
Adult humans have big, round heads while mountain lions have relatively small mouths, so it's difficult for them to kill us with a head bite (although we could get our faces chewed off regardless
). These cats like to attack the back of the neck, so what the victim needs to do, if possible, is guard that area in particular while his/her buddy is trying to get the cat off.
In this type of instance, I have always wondered, if I was carrying a firearm, just where would I shoot the animal in order to force it to let go of the victim as quickly as possible.
Remember: A head shot would put the victim at great risk in this scenario, yet time is of the essence.
I'd treat the mountain lion virtually the same way I would treat a human predator, attacking its most sensitive, vulnerable body parts. Going for its eyes will usually do the trick--put a stick in them if you can. If you have pepper spray, then use that--it hurts them just like it hurts us (mammals in general--it's birds that are immune).
If you have a pistol, then a head shot would indeed be risky for a variety of reasons (e.g. fast movement combined with proximity to the victim, a skull that may sometimes deflect a bullet just like with humans), so I'd suggest, like many others here, a shot to the heart and lungs (preferably not in the direction of the human victim to avoid overpenetration issues). As for ammo (not that anybody asked
), definitely use hollow-points unless the caliber is weak. Anything that works well enough on a human should work well enough on mountain lions.
Seriously? All reason and direction would fly out the window when you have a cougar clamped to your head. You will be doing well to draw, and realize that you are shooting the animal and not yourself at all.
Thinking that one might be shooting oneself?
Anybody who is THAT prone to panic probably shouldn't be trusted with firearms (at least in defensive situations).
They are the strongest cat in the world for their weight.
Mountain lions are the best jumpers (among the big cats) with their powerful hind legs, and are exceptionally quick at pouncing, but I think that jaguars (specifically their jaws) and leopards (specifically their front legs) are stronger per weight in other respects. Overall, mountain lions are one of the scariest of the big cats because they're SO sneaky and pounce SO quickly (often from above), but fortunately for us they're not all that powerful, and tend to keep away from humans.
If he latches to your neck, I strongly doubt you will be able to do much of anything.
It depends on the specific cat and how much it wants to eat you. Most are unwilling to risk their eyesight just for a meal, so tearing and poking at their eyes is one possibility. Having a buddy beating the crap out of it and/or shooting it is another (mountain lions naturally don't like to be attacked or outnumbered).
On the other hand, if the mountain lion takes you completely by surprise (not uncommon) and gets a really good bite on your neck (sometimes they do, and sometimes they struggle), then yeah, you're probably dead.
No, I really didn't intend to sound 'Green' with that statement. I was only laying down a premise for my question so as to convey the reality of the issue and its application to the average person reading this almost anywhere in the U.S.
"Green" or otherwise, I think it is undeniable that human habitations have been encroaching on wilderness areas more and more (and often in ways that divide the wilderness), with increasing population density. It is also true that the populations of large predators have been growing in many areas, due to being protected by law. Naturally, having more people close to more predators will increase the absolute number of attacks.
Males can run 8 feet long and 180 lbs. I exaggerated just a touch for effect.
There is nothing wrong with accounting for worst-case scenarios--anybody who owns firearms for personal and/or home defense is doing just that. A few mountain lions are really big, even more than 200 lbs. I think the biggest ever found was around 300 lbs.
Regardless, they can drag off 200-400 lbs of incapacitated prey with ease.
Mule deer can get that big on occasion, hence the pouncing from behind with no warning and biting the back of the neck thing we get with mountain lions. Cats tend to be sneaky in general, of course, but these guys are real buggers in that regard.
I have read victims' accounts of only being able to move enough to gouge at the eyes or yank on the ears. Usually to no avail.
They probably weren't doing it hard enough--most people are pretty wimpy at hurting other creatures (including other humans). Whether it's with firearms or one's bare hands, a successful defense starts with the right mindset, namely the willingness and determination to cause tremendous physical harm to another living being (only when justified, of course, and only until the threat is over).
But, most certainly, there is no hard fast rule of how it would play out.
That's the thing about aggression between animals (including humans, even with firearms). Believe it or not, I've even seen a video of a mountain lion (not actually a lion, obviously, but a cougar or puma) killing a much larger, more powerful male African lion in a fight (why they were kept together is still a mystery).
It got under the lion and tore his abdomen up with its hind legs.
This is exactly what I was pondering. I have seen video of wild cats, lions, etc., that are so enthralled in the mental 'kill-mode' that almost no amount of damage to the cat's body had any effect at all.
That could happen, too, which is why it's a good idea to carry a gun or knife, even if it's unlikely that they'll be needed.
