![]() ![]() Don't hike, bike, or jog alone, especially during dawn, twilight, and nighttime hours.Keep from tripping those prey reflexes and you drastically reduce your chances of unpleasant encounters with North America's native lion. This is essentially the equivalent of dressing up as a bright red laser pointer dot, triggering reflexes in the lions with potentially unhappy results.Īnd thus the best way to avoid trouble with mountain lions is to avoid putting on that laser pointer dot costume. This indicates that most people killed by pumas have acted in ways that make them attractive prey to big cats, whether by being small, noisy children moving in unpredictable ways, or by moving at a rapid clip. Since 1994 or so, almost all deaths have been among adults hiking, running, mountain biking, or skiing in puma country. Until the mid 1990s, most people killed by pumas in North America were children. As we humans continue to encroach on their habitat, we'll give the big cats more and more opportunities to interact with us, and the way we act in the wilds can make a difference. Still, every so often one will become far too curious and incautious for its own good. For comparison's sake, about 62 people die each year from lightning strikes in the US: you're thus more than 300 times more likely to be killed by lightning than by a puma. That's an average of one person killed by a puma about every five years. Since 1909, just 20 people have died as a result of puma attacks in North America, including Canada and Mexico. They also aren't stupid: the vast majority of close encounters between pumas and humans end with a dead cat, and the pumas know it. Pumas are incredibly reclusive creatures. cougar or puma), let alone be put in the position of negotiating your way out of an encounter safely. It is incredibly unlikely that you will ever even see a wild mountain lion (a.k.a.
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