November 2019 • Nebraskaland 29
In Case of an Encounter
Because of cougars' secretive nature and
low density, they rarely interact with humans.
In the rare event of an encounter, follow these
guidelines.
●
Do not approach a mountain lion.
●
Leave the animal an avenue of escape.
●
Stay calm, move slowly.
●
Back away safely if you can. Do not turn your
back to the lion or start running.
●
Raise your arms or backpack to appear larger.
●
Lift up your children to prevent them from
running.
●
If you are being attacked fi ght back. Mountain
lion have been successfully driven off with bare
hands. Use rocks, or whatever you can get your
hands on. Try to remain on your feet or get back
up if knocked down.
Mountain lions are extraordinarily stealthy and
rarely seen in the wild, known to typically flee
or stay hidden when they sense humans. Fatal
attacks do happen on rare occasion, though, and
as this species re-establishes its range and humans
increase development within the same areas the
occasional encounter is sure to ensue. People living
in or visiting cat country are wise to learn about
the species, how to respond appropriately to their
presence and best methods for protecting domestic
animals. Dispersing young males, which are learning
to hunt and establish a territory, are the most usual
suspects when encounters occur with livestock and
people.
This uncollared cat, photographed in Sheridan
County, apparently watched me as I followed a
dragline in the snow to find a deer it had cached
at a creek bottom. Little did I know, until hearing
some scurrying, that it had had been watching me
approach its food. I watched the cat as it hurried
from its resting place to the top of the canyon and
saunter away on the ridgeline above. The indention
in the snow where the cat had been resting was just
15 steps away from me. The cat did what almost all
of them do in similar situations – chose to abandon
its groceries and flee human presence. I got this
photo later that night after anxiously setting the
camera trap near its food cache atop the frozen
creek.
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