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Man Fights Off Cougar by Punching it in Face

The British Columbia man emerged from the animal encounter relatively unscathed.

Photo: James Gritz via Getty Images

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In 2021, shortly after a viral survey by YouGov revealed that 6 percent of Americans believed they could win a fight with a grizzly bear, I found myself at a Backpacker event in the middle of a heated debate with a half-dozen coworkers about which animals we thought we could take. We all agreed we could win against a rat or a cat when the chips were down; opinions on anything bigger than that were split. (Maybe I’m too confident, but count me among the 61 percent of my countrymen who believe that I could successfully defend myself from a goose out for blood.) One thing we all agreed on, though: The 8 percent of respondents who thought they could emerge victorious from a barehanded scrap with a lion were delusional.

Well, late last week, a British Columbia man did nearly that. As reported by the CBC, he was working outside near the town of Smithers, about 600 miles northwest of Vancouver, when a cougar approached him and clawed at his torso. The unnamed man responded by punching the animal in the face, and it ran away. Aside from a few scratches, he mostly escaped unscathed. (Wildlife officials set a live trap to attempt to capture the cat, but they’ve been unsuccessful so far.)

There are a few big caveats here. At up to 220 pounds versus a lion’s maximum weight of about 550, a cougar is significantly smaller than its African cousin, though still plenty big. This wasn’t exactly a Thunderdome situation, either: Cougars are ambush predators that rarely see humans as prey, and will almost always run from a fight.

Our mystery man reacted exactly how experts say people should to a cougar attack: If making yourself large and loud doesn’t drive the animal off, you should fight back with whatever’s available—rocks, water bottles, trekking poles—focusing on the mountain lion’s eyes and face.

Hopefully it goes without saying, but Backpacker discourages readers from picking a fight with wildlife of any size. From rattlesnakes to geese to grizzlies, the overwhelming majority of animals would rather mind their own business than go searching for an interspecies brawl, and will retreat from humans given the opportunity. But it’s the rare hiker who’s never heard a rustling outside their tent and speculated about whether they could drive away something toothy and looking for a meal.

A smarter idea: practice prevention. Here are a couple of solid strategies that backpackers, dayhikers, and campers can use in cougar country.

Travel in a group. Cougar attacks on humans who are alone or in pairs are extremely rare; cougar attacks on humans in a close group of 3 or more are essentially nonexistent. Invite a couple of friends along and stick together on the trail. Take special care to keep kids nearby in lion country: The National Park Service notes that cougars appear to be “especially drawn to children.”

Pay attention to wildlife alerts. If local authorities report cougar activity, it might be best to avoid activities like trail running alone, which can stimulate the animals’ chase instinct.

Consider carrying a deterrent: In case of a face-to-face encounter, bear spray works as well on mountain lions as it does on bears.

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