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April 10, 2009
Mountain Lion Survival - 10
by J.R. Absher
A new study conducted at the University of California-Davis suggests that the conventional advice of standing one’s ground when confronted by a mountain lion and trying to appear large might not always be the best tact. Despite the fact that every state game and fish agency that operates in lion country recommends the opposite, the study concludes that in some instances, running might be the wisest move. “Immobility may be interpreted by the mountain lion as a sign that you are vulnerable prey, either because you are unaware of its presence, or because you are disabled and not capable of escaping,” said the study’s lead author, psychology professor Richard Coss, who the university describes as an expert on the evolution of predator-prey relationships. The review of 110 years of mountain lion attacks looked at personal accounts, news articles and wildlife agency reports involving 185 people in the U.S. and Canada. One study collaborator is well-known hunting and outdoor writer Kathy Etling, author of the 2004 book, Cougar Attacks: Encounters of the Worst Kind. E. Lee Fitzhugh, a wildlife enhancement specialist with the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology also served as a contributor. “The Effects of Human Age, Group Composition, and Behavior on the Likelihood of Being Injured by Attacking Pumas,” is published in the current issue (volume 22, issue 1) of the quarterly journal Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People & Animals. |
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Comments (10)
There is a reason I carry a .44 Mag when I go into areas that are remote. Folks talk about a mountain lion in the area where I deer hunt. I have no interest in testing the theory of staying still makes you more vulnerable.
In another area, years before, I found cougar tracks following the footprints I made while walking into my stand that morning. It was spooked and broke off my trail. I saw it at a great distance and didn't know what it was until I got to the tracks. Later, I was told to keep my eyes open because a cougar had been seen down there. I would rather have known before hand but I'm still alive so what the hey?
I have a buddy who had a stand off with a cougar. All he had to defend himself was a hiking stick. He tried to look all intimidating and scare it but it just looked at him like he was an idiot. For some reason though it decided that he was not worth messing with, so after about 60 seconds it just turned and walked off into the woods. He is pretty lucky to be unharmed if you ask me. What could have made the cougar respond the way it did? This happened in the NC mountains. I have heard that there are a few cougars in the area. Does anybody else have any cougar experience in the Southern Appalachian mountains?
Huh I guess the next step is to find someone to put it to the test and see what happens. I agree with Bo carry the firearm it's better to be safe than sorry.
In my state carrying a firearm during bow season is illegal.I,VE never understood this reasoning,if it concerns poaching ,then whats more impotant a few deer taken illegally or someones life.THE right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Whats so complicated with those 9 words that some people and most law enforcement can;t get through thier heads ?
I'd like to read the study before I accept that....anyone who has a cat, or dog for that matter, knows that running away almost always prompts a chase....I think I'll take my chances and stand my ground and look as intimidating as I can....A good friend of mine stood off a cougar while elk hunting in Montana this way (shouting, hand waving, throwing sticks)....Predators typically key off weakness in thier prey, so any action to the contrary should work in your favor...just my opinion of course!
Considering that the animal's preferred method of attack is to hit you from behind with the force of a small car while clamping it's jaws on the back of your neck, I'll keep an eye on it, thanks.
Keep in mind that the study was done in the left coast state of Californicate and that state makes it illegal to defend yourself! ( trust 12 of your peers vs 6 of your friends, etc) The people of that miserable state voted to make the damn lion more important than humans! Hell, even the fish & game can't regulate them! Whenever someone in Californicate gets bit, cheer! Cause probably it is a soccer mom out on a jog and feeling so great cause she voted to save the lions ( or how much she donated to PITA)
Run AT the cat! Growl like a grizzly as loud as you can. If it doesn't run by the time you get to it beat hell out of it with the large staff you should be carrying if you don't have a gun.
Remember this "study" was done in Calf.(you know, where they stoped hunting them). Then they can't come up with why more and more people are being attacked/killed.
You want to run (you two legged deer)? Reminds me of the bear hunting joke where a guys putting on tennis shoes when a bears attacking a guy and his buddy, when buddy says
"What are you doing?, Guy replys,"I ain't got to out run the bear". Stand your ground.
As for NC's question,not in App. Mtns. but a group
(5 people) were "followed" off the mtn. one night in Colo., the next night going into town we had one cross the Hi-way in front of the truck(nose to rump, as long as a F-150 extra cab 150/200lbs. We talked to a Game and Fish officer the next day and he'd been working 27 yrs and had never seen one in the wild. Watch you back trail out there.
people)
Down here in so CA, from the desert to the sea you are "lucky" if you ever see a lion (saw one in ten years of hunting and hiking), but it's sure easy enough to find the remains of all the deer (including fawns) that they are killing. While hiking and hunting I've been finding more and more lion deer kill each year, and although I'm no wildlife biologist, it seems like the so CA lion population density is increasing per given acre, due to lack of hunting and/or migration of lions displaced from suburban areas. Every now and then one goes for somebody, usually a woman or child, but even tall adult men are not immune to attack if they are seen by the lion while kneeling down, etc. Seems rational to hunt lions in a regulated manner (perhaps a drawing for tags similar to the X deer zones), but unfortunately there aren't many rational people left in this state. Even the wildlife biologists have to sit on their hands and watch as lions decimate vulnerable populations of bighorn sheep, a secondary food after the lions have cleaned out the deer in a given area.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)
There is a reason I carry a .44 Mag when I go into areas that are remote. Folks talk about a mountain lion in the area where I deer hunt. I have no interest in testing the theory of staying still makes you more vulnerable.
In another area, years before, I found cougar tracks following the footprints I made while walking into my stand that morning. It was spooked and broke off my trail. I saw it at a great distance and didn't know what it was until I got to the tracks. Later, I was told to keep my eyes open because a cougar had been seen down there. I would rather have known before hand but I'm still alive so what the hey?
I'd like to read the study before I accept that....anyone who has a cat, or dog for that matter, knows that running away almost always prompts a chase....I think I'll take my chances and stand my ground and look as intimidating as I can....A good friend of mine stood off a cougar while elk hunting in Montana this way (shouting, hand waving, throwing sticks)....Predators typically key off weakness in thier prey, so any action to the contrary should work in your favor...just my opinion of course!
Considering that the animal's preferred method of attack is to hit you from behind with the force of a small car while clamping it's jaws on the back of your neck, I'll keep an eye on it, thanks.
I have a buddy who had a stand off with a cougar. All he had to defend himself was a hiking stick. He tried to look all intimidating and scare it but it just looked at him like he was an idiot. For some reason though it decided that he was not worth messing with, so after about 60 seconds it just turned and walked off into the woods. He is pretty lucky to be unharmed if you ask me. What could have made the cougar respond the way it did? This happened in the NC mountains. I have heard that there are a few cougars in the area. Does anybody else have any cougar experience in the Southern Appalachian mountains?
Huh I guess the next step is to find someone to put it to the test and see what happens. I agree with Bo carry the firearm it's better to be safe than sorry.
In my state carrying a firearm during bow season is illegal.I,VE never understood this reasoning,if it concerns poaching ,then whats more impotant a few deer taken illegally or someones life.THE right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Whats so complicated with those 9 words that some people and most law enforcement can;t get through thier heads ?
Keep in mind that the study was done in the left coast state of Californicate and that state makes it illegal to defend yourself! ( trust 12 of your peers vs 6 of your friends, etc) The people of that miserable state voted to make the damn lion more important than humans! Hell, even the fish & game can't regulate them! Whenever someone in Californicate gets bit, cheer! Cause probably it is a soccer mom out on a jog and feeling so great cause she voted to save the lions ( or how much she donated to PITA)
Remember this "study" was done in Calf.(you know, where they stoped hunting them). Then they can't come up with why more and more people are being attacked/killed.
You want to run (you two legged deer)? Reminds me of the bear hunting joke where a guys putting on tennis shoes when a bears attacking a guy and his buddy, when buddy says
"What are you doing?, Guy replys,"I ain't got to out run the bear". Stand your ground.
As for NC's question,not in App. Mtns. but a group
(5 people) were "followed" off the mtn. one night in Colo., the next night going into town we had one cross the Hi-way in front of the truck(nose to rump, as long as a F-150 extra cab 150/200lbs. We talked to a Game and Fish officer the next day and he'd been working 27 yrs and had never seen one in the wild. Watch you back trail out there.
people)
Down here in so CA, from the desert to the sea you are "lucky" if you ever see a lion (saw one in ten years of hunting and hiking), but it's sure easy enough to find the remains of all the deer (including fawns) that they are killing. While hiking and hunting I've been finding more and more lion deer kill each year, and although I'm no wildlife biologist, it seems like the so CA lion population density is increasing per given acre, due to lack of hunting and/or migration of lions displaced from suburban areas. Every now and then one goes for somebody, usually a woman or child, but even tall adult men are not immune to attack if they are seen by the lion while kneeling down, etc. Seems rational to hunt lions in a regulated manner (perhaps a drawing for tags similar to the X deer zones), but unfortunately there aren't many rational people left in this state. Even the wildlife biologists have to sit on their hands and watch as lions decimate vulnerable populations of bighorn sheep, a secondary food after the lions have cleaned out the deer in a given area.
Run AT the cat! Growl like a grizzly as loud as you can. If it doesn't run by the time you get to it beat hell out of it with the large staff you should be carrying if you don't have a gun.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)