A woman was out hiking with her dog recently near Boulder,
Colorado. A mountain lion crept up on her to the point where she discovered the
cougar only three feet away. So, what did she do? While making noise and raising her arms in the air, she slowly made her way
over to an outhouse about 50 yards away and hid with her dog inside the honey bucket.
Despite her attempts to scare away the mountain lion, the
young cat apparently stuck around for several minutes before wandering off. Being
young, it was probably more interested in the dog than her.
Wildlife officers were not able to locate the animal but did
find tracks confirming a mountain lion had been there. They
deemed the behavior of the mountain lion to be "curious" and not
aggressive, so no action was taken. Fortunately for this cougar, the term “curiosity
killed the cat” does not apply.
The woman did the right thing by making noise and making
herself appear bigger by raising her arms. Taking refuge in the poop booth didn’t
hurt, either.
