What to do if you find yourself stalked by an angry apex predator
Kyle Burgess was minding his own business on a trail run at Slate Canyon in Utah when he came across a few creatures on the trail ahead of him.
"Really, I didn't know what they were, and I usually pull my phone out like, 'Oh cool, animals,'" he told KSL.com. "
After about 10 seconds into the video, you're about to see, the cubs’ pissed off mother appears from around a bend in the path and rushes toward Burgess.
That's pretty terrifying, right? I nearly crapped my pants a few times while watching it. What would you do in this happened to you? Would you keep filming it while the big cat attempts to slit your throat?
Wild Aware Utah has a website dedicated to how people should handle interactions with different wildlife when recreating outdoors. Some of the tips on "cougar safety" include don’t jog alone, keep campsites clean, and leave areas where a dead animal is found because it might be a cougar kill — and a cougar could return to defend its food.
As for how to handle an encounter, people should stop immediately and not run away. They should maintain eye contact, stand up tall, and make themselves look bigger by raising and waving their arms or jacket above their head.
Other tips on the website include:
Pick up children and pets or keep them very close
Do not crouch or squat
Talk firmly in a loud voice, back away slowly, and leave the area
Fight back if you are attacked. Protect your head and neck
If you are aggressive enough the cougar will probably flee
Aside from the tips on the website, it is said that picking up a rock would be a good idea for defense in a possible attack, which is what Burgess did in the video.
By Matthew Sterner.
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