Mountain Lions

[Bushmaster]

I will be leaving in a week to go on a backpacking and fly fishing trip in the West Elk Wilderness area of Gunnison National Forest. I have been there once years ago and have visited Colorado three times on fishing trips. I have seen elk, mule deer, bighorns, and bears in Colorado, none of which have me particularly concerned. I will be armed with a firearm which I know how to use properly. None of these animals (even the bears probably) would actively hunt someone so I feel as long as I'm not out there poking them with a stick or leaving baked trout in my tent, I don't need to concern myself with them. What I do worry about are mountain lions. I know how well cats can hide themselves. Bobcats are thick in Kansas and I have lived here my entire life only to catch a fleeting glimpse of one. It makes me wonder how many bobcats and mountain lions I have walked by, never even knowing they were there. This bothers me given a cougar's preference for deer sized prey (human sized). An animal that would most likely attack because I startled it or I was in it's territory would probably make me well aware of it's presence, thus giving me time to react in the proper manner. An animal that is stalking me as prey (a mountain lion) would be as silent as possible. This combined with their tendency to go straight for the neck scares me. If one of these things decides to grab me from behind, am I going to have a chance in hell to stab, shoot, or fight it off? Maybe this is an irrational concern? I am traveling with a friend. These will be the deepest woods I have ever been in, the last trip being in the Sangre De Cristo range near Westcliffe.

[justin_baker]

There are quite a bit of mountain lions around here, so i did some research. Many of the survivors of mountain lion or lion attacks survived because they had a knife.
This makes sense if you think about it. If a mountain lion jumps you, your best chance is to pull a knife from your belt and go straight for the neck. Its going to be way easier to pull out a knife and stab then pull out a gun and shoot while the mountain lion is on you and clawing at you. It will be easier to slash than try and pinpoint your pistol barrel. Having a knife will increase your chances of survival by a tremendous amount. You are not going to see a mountain lion coming for you.....you have a very slim chance of shooting in on the charge. Any rifle you have will be knocked clear out of your hands. So you should definitely carry a firearm, but dont go anywhere without a belt knife. Its going to be a way more reliable weapon if you get jumped.

Anyways, dont be so worried. Mountain lion attacks are very rare even though humans are around mountain lions much than bears or anything else. Mountain lions are relatively fragile. They have powerful muscles and claws but can be taken down with a simple 9mm or .45. They are a lot smaller they you probably have imagined them to be. If you see one charging you your best bet is to try a get a powerful kick into its charge, with heavy boots you could easily shatter its jaw. Fight hard and dont let it get a deadly strike at you.
But really you shouldnt be so concerned. Mountain lions dont attack humans by nature. A bear will rip you to shreds if you get near to it but a mountain lion will hide from you. You are tall and scary looking to them. :) They are going to be especially freaked out seeing a creature with modern clothing and equipment way out in the backcountry.

[Camp10]

Out of the 24 people killed by mountain lions in the US and Canada, 13 were kids. Of the adults, 6 were women and one of the men killed was in his 70's. The adults were jogging, biking, skiing, or with a child that was the target of the cat and the adult was killed in the defence of the child. There was a few that didnt fit this but they were listed as "alone" when they were killed and there was question if a cat was involved at all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_cougar_attacks_in_North_America

I dont think two adult men would be targeted by a cat unless they were acting like that animals prey. I guess if only 24 cases of fatal attacks can be found in America from 1890 to present and only 4 or 5 are adult men, it might be a fear to keep further to the back of the list.

[tipacanoe]

Hope you are able to enjoy your trip. How long are you going for?

[Bushmaster]

Actually, I figured a knife would be more useful in this situation. I plan in having the .44 holstered in a crossdraw fashion with my 8 inch blade on the right, for easy access to it with my right hand. I will be there for approximately four days if we can get the majority of the driving out of the way on the 20th as planned. It's about an 11 hour drive from here. I feel the browns and rainbows on soap creek are worth the trouble though. The humidity is another factor. We are creeping into the dog days of summer, when Kansas turns into a sweltering sauna of intense humidity. The dry mountain air is always a nice break.

[finallyME]

If I was you, I would worry less about lions and more about bears. If you see a lion, hopefully you will have the time to take a picture. Act big and noisy. But, you have to do more for bears. Good luck.

[Old GI]

My son on the organic farm in NM has a mountain lion problem. He's lost chickens and goats. His dog alerted on one about 15 feet from him in the brush and it took off. He and his wife now carry handguns into any area away from the house. Some tiime ago, I gave him one of my old 8mm Mausers some time ago. Waiting for BBQ'd mountain lion.

[Justin Case]

The Natives in Africa wear a "Face" mask on the back of their head for this very reason, Big Cats are less likely to attack if you are facing them ,,

[Rick]

So....are you saying they are two faced? That's not very nice.

[Justin Case]

LOl,, Yeah, I guess I am,, They also don't know whether they are coming or going :sneaky2:

[timberghost]

A couple years ago here on the front range near Denver, a jogger fended off a lion with his swiss army knife. Seems most of our lion attacks are from joggers, turns on the lions predatory instinct. I always carry something, gun knives, big pine club. Good luck fishing!

[Bushmaster]

I guess when you look at it, it does appear that most of the attacks on grown men involve someone running or biking. The fast movement would trigger an attack much like an attractor lure when fishing. It doesn't even look like food, but the flashy colors and quick movement cause fish to attack it anyway. The reason I was less concerned about bears is that black bears probably aren't going to be out hunting humans but the food the humans have, as apposed to a grizzly that would probably see me as a snack. There's something about a 17x scaled up house cat that just scares me I guess.

[Justin Case]

They will ambush you from behind, bite you on the back of the neck and sever your spinal cord, there was an attack in San Deigo county i think where a Mountain Lion killed a mountain biker and almost killed another, both were attacked from above and behind, Maybe having a dog along would help as they would smell the cat ???

[AVENGED]

Well Look At Them The Same As A Household Cat,Just Bigger! Your Cat Won't Attack A Toy Thats Just Sitting There, Its When Its Moving In A Quick Motion That It Attacks...... I Wonder If Catnip Would Have The Same Affect On A Lion???????

[justin_baker]

If you are with two people, the mountain lion will jump one of you and the other can give it a swift kick in the chest and break some of its ribs.
Well, this is why mountain lions wont attack you when alone!