Interesting story about a mountain lion

[Charlie Martinez]

Back in the 80's while deer hunting in the Texas hill country (Bandera) I was setup on the side of a low hill behind a brush blind overlooking a water hole waiting for a deer. It was very early in the morning & still almost dark when I heard the distinct roar (or scream) of a mountain lion close behind me. Of course I'll never know for sure but it seemed pretty clear that it was maybe 15 to 20 yards away. It surprised me plenty but at the time I was not concerned about mt. lion because I had always heard that they did not attack people. I decided to not move & wait hoping it would show up in front of me where I could shoot. Nothing happened & later that morning I shot a buck at the water hole. Recently I have read many stories about mountain lions attacking people & it appears that many folks that enter lion country seem to be concerned enough to carry sidearms in case it happens. I don't know much about mountain lions so my question is why would a mountain lion stalk up close behind someone & then for no apparent reason give away his presence? If it had jumped on me I would have never known it until it had me so I've always wondered if there was an explanation.

 

[entropy]

Cats stalk-it's what they do. He wanted to know what you were, and after stalking you and deciding you weren't breakfast, he 'counted coup' and let you know that if he'd have wanted to, he could have messed you up pretty bad.

 

[Choctaw]

Mountain lions seem to have it in for the joggers in Colorado. I don't think I have ever heard of an attack here in Texas.

 

[rodwha]

Actual predatory attacks are rather rare. Usually it’s due to a sick cat that’s starving or otherwise struggling to feed itself. However running and cycling trigger the instinct to pounce, which is why we hear so much about being attacked.

 

[jmr40]

It may well have been stalking you and didn't realize you were human until it got close. Any predator will weigh the risk vs reward factor before attacking prey. If they think they stand a chance of being hurt by the prey they will pass it up and look for something easier to kill. Mt lions, and even bear rarely attack humans for just that reason. Most bear can easily take most humans, but they don't know that. Sometimes they are desperate enough to take the risk. Usually only the very young, very old or sick.

I've spotted bobcats and coyote stalking me while I was calling ducks and turkey. They thought they were stalking a duck or turkey until they spotted me and quickly retreated. There are probably many more that I never saw.

Once while walking into the woods before daylight to reach a beaver pond to duck hunt I saw something move inches from my right foot and run across the trail behind me. I didn't get a good look at it, just a flash of movement. But my brother walking about 10' behind me got a good look at a bobcat. It was a clear sky with a full moon so we didn't need a flashlight. The cat probably heard us walking and waited in ambush thinking we were deer. When he saw we were human he ran off. He was literally less than a foot from my right boot.

 

[.308 Norma]

It may well have been stalking you and didn't realize you were human until it got close.

That would be my guess. Not bragging, but there's a lot of mountain lions around here, and I've heard the story of a mountain lion stalking up close behind a hunter, then turning and running away, more than once.
At least every couple of years, a mountain lion wanders into the big city of Pocatello, Idaho...about 25 miles north of here. And when one does wander into town, it usually takes a small dog or two before the Department of Fish and Game captures it and hauls it off. We've always kept a real close eye on our Cocker Spaniel when we let him out to do his thing. But there's little doubt in my mind that in the 40 years we've lived here, we've lost an outside cat or three to mountain lions.
Mountain lions are one of the reasons I gave up jogging to stay in shape. Well, that and because I got old. But I still walk a couple of miles down to Marsh Creek and back when the weather cooperates. But you can bet that when I do, I'm armed. I also carry a great big hiking staff that intimidates the heck out of the farm dogs that run a hundred yards down driveways to bark at me for trespassing on "their section" of a public road. I'll bet my staff would intimidate a mountain lion too if I ever had to use it for that.

 

[Milt1]

My wife and I were visiting our son who was guiding out of Haines, Alaska several years ago. We were on our way to an old gold mining place that was still active outside of Haines when we saw a mountain lion in the road. He quickly moved onto a side road and we didn't see him again. The Fish and Wildlife guy in Haines didn't believe us until I told him about the buckskin color and long tail. He then said that occasionally a lion would come in close to Haines from British Columbia. We consider ourselves very lucky to see one as very few people ever do in the wild.

 

[Paul7]

Friend of mine here in NM had one show up right behind him while coyote calling.

 

[.308 Norma]

Friend of mine here in NM had one show up right behind him while coyote calling.

Yeppers, that's not the first time I've heard of something like that happening either.
I've read about, and actually had a hunting buddy who used a wounded rabbit coyote call for bear hunting. We didn't see any bears the time I went with him, but the technique he taught me was for us sit back to back as he blew his coyote call. He said he didn't want to repeat the experience he'd had once before when he was calling bears - he heard something behind him and turned around just in time to see a good sized black bear not 10 feet away. Luckily, the bear was as surprised as he was, spun around, and tore out of there so fast my buddy couldn't even get a shot.