It really doesn't take much to fend off a mountain lion, and the attacks are rarely fatal. All of this DOOOOOM stuff is silly.
It's an animal. It has no vested interest in getting hurt for food or territory. Most predators do not like prey that fights back.
I've read accounts of a lion being driven off by a woman with a Swiss Army knife, and a more recent one of a man using a medium-sized Spyderco folder to drive one off.
Here's an interesting report of a mountain lion attack. From the story linked:
Off-leash dogs: Not the best thing in mountain lion or bear areas.
I hope he had a big bore fishing pole, because he didn't bring a firearm. Yet he survived.
The article also links to this chart, which is interesting.
That shows 14 attacks from 1986 to 2012. So the rate is about a half an attack a year. Only three of those were fatal. None of the attacks on children were fatal.
Can a mountain lion be dangerous? Yeah, of course. Is it some kind of super predator that metes out certain death to anything it attacks? Hardly. That's actually a more apt description of the common house cat. Be very glad that you aren't small enough to be on a house cat's menu.
It's an animal. It has no vested interest in getting hurt for food or territory. Most predators do not like prey that fights back.
I've read accounts of a lion being driven off by a woman with a Swiss Army knife, and a more recent one of a man using a medium-sized Spyderco folder to drive one off.
Here's an interesting report of a mountain lion attack. From the story linked:
The ranger, accompanied by his dog, was fishing around sunset at Crescent Beach. At some point, he noticed the canine being chased by a mountain lion. It then began to approach.
Off-leash dogs: Not the best thing in mountain lion or bear areas.
The ranger stood his ground, yelling and using his fishing pole and legs to strike and kick several times. It worked. The puma eventually ran off, leaving the man with torn jeans, but no injuries.
I hope he had a big bore fishing pole, because he didn't bring a firearm. Yet he survived.
The article also links to this chart, which is interesting.
That shows 14 attacks from 1986 to 2012. So the rate is about a half an attack a year. Only three of those were fatal. None of the attacks on children were fatal.
Can a mountain lion be dangerous? Yeah, of course. Is it some kind of super predator that metes out certain death to anything it attacks? Hardly. That's actually a more apt description of the common house cat. Be very glad that you aren't small enough to be on a house cat's menu.