Cougars, also known as mountain lions are elusive and difficult to spot in the wild. People spend a lot of time and effort trying to catch a glimpse of these beautiful creatures in the wild. However, one hiker encountered far more of this big feline than he ever wanted. This video of the terrified hiker swearing and trying to scare off the big cat went viral. Wildlife experts took this opportunity to explain the behaviour of the wild animal as well.
The hiker is 26 year old Kyle Burgess who was charting a course through Slate Canyon in Provo, Utah. His path crossed that of a cougar protecting her cubs. So she decided to show him that he was not welcome.
Experts in wild animal behaviour clarified that the cougar was not trying to injure the man; merely trying to protect her cubs. It was also pointed out that filming the event while speaking to the cougar is not the best thing to do.
The tweeple discussed that the hiker approached the cubs of this cougar, which is why she felt the need to intimidate him and head him off. She was not stalking him and if he had not approached her cubs, she would never have revealed herself to him.
It is advisable to try and make yourself look bigger in a situation like this. Yelling aggressively and throwing something like a rock or a branch would usually make a big cat like this run off.
Many on Twitter expressed sympathy for the cougar – a similar situation with human kids would prompt a similar reaction.
This video is up on Instagram and had a lot of people wondering whether this was something done for a selfie; in the hope that a social media post may become viral.
Most of the tweeple seemed to side with the cat protecting her cubs and felt that the hiker was trying to get some publicity; as such did not deserve too much sympathy.
While a lot of reports on the incident spoke of the big cat ‘stalking’ the hiker, some of the tweeple had alternative headline ideas.
A lot of the tweeple expressed admiration at the hiker for not panicking and running. Running would have triggered the animal’s predatory instinct and would undoubtedly have had far worse consequences.
The cougar isn't trying to get too close or to injure. She was merely getting him out of her territory. In fact the animal shows remarkable restraint in a situation where she felt that the survival of her cubs was under threat from the hiker. Now if only human beings would learn to exercise such restraint and not turn to violence when they feel threatened!
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