This happens far more than people know. I live in cougar country and have seen my share. A friend jogs the remote trails near home. He will jog till he is tired then jog back. Twice when jogging in light snow he has found that a lion had cut his tracks and followed him for a ways. On my own little slice of paradise, I hire a female forest ranger to inspect my pine trees for pine beetles. A few years ago when we were not home she was inspecting when the neighbor happened to look out and see a lion stalking the ranger. Screams and shouts from 2 directions broke off the stalking. Just above my house a forest ranger went back packing. Waking in the morning and emerging from his tent, he found 3 immature lions in camp. Unarmed, why I do not know, he could not scare them off. He left his camp and headed back to his car with the lions in tow. He kept them at a distance by banging to frying pans together all the way out. Once a year or so a young person just up and disappears while walking in remote area. Lions and bears are often the prime suspects. Stay armed and pay attention.
Puma attacks
- Thread starter Ray
- Start date
Fishinfool
Member
A little trick that is used by wood cutters in India to prevent Tiger attacks is to wear a costume face mask, backwards. It has proven to be quite effective in preventing Tiger attacks, as Tigers, like most cats, like to attack from behind, and not be seen by their victims. Might very well work on Puma's.
Larry
Larry
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Mistered
Member
A few hunters around here are actually getting them to respond to predator calls - something they never used to do. Probably the greater numbers and more competition for food are forcing them to respond to the calls.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Ummm.... yep. Actually, the laughter following you everywhere would probably scare the pumas away ....
But seriously, this is indeed a tactic used by rural people in areas of India like the Sundarbans which still have significant populations of Bengal tigers with a long "tradition" of man-eating and where people are forced to work unarmed and often isolated in prime ambush country.
Doing that in a US forest would give a new meaning to the term "overkill". Bit like commuting in a Bradley in Boise.
Being armed is not likely to help in a cougar attack. As others mentioned they prefer to attack from the rear and high. They pounce on their victims regardless of species. They stalk their prey. Unlike bears, they attack to get a meal, human or otherwise. They try to get a bite in the victims head or threat.
The best defense against a cougar attack is situational awareness. Attack from the rear and high is a clue to the terrain you must be most cautious in. Have a good knife because you might not get to shoot the animal if it attacks because you are wrestling it. A shot has to be incapacitating to stop the attack. However a gaping knife wound is going to have a greater affect than a bullet hole. The cougar will instantaneously know,itmis badly cut. That has a good chance of getting it break off the attack.
Ok, so how do I know what I just said. Here is how. My last two tours in Nam were as a battalion (not Force) recon Marine. We operated on our own and did not have the protection from animals that larger units have. Not a lot of predators want to wander into a company strength area.
We worked in four, eight, twelve, and sixteen man teams. Eight was the norm. We were in I Corps, the northern part of South VN. That is tiger country, and some Marines were attacked by tigers who like cougars will eat you. No fatalities that I know of but some serious injuries. Generally only a few of us had 1911s unless we carried M3 A1s with no bayonet fix. We toted KA Bars. And others had M7 bayonets.
We were told if we were attacked by a tiger to use the blade to slice into the cat as many times as possible because the cat would be deterred by the hacking. Now I cannot not attest to whether that works or not because I never had to fight a tiger. You can be assured I am really glad to not of had the experience.
The best defense against a cougar attack is situational awareness. Attack from the rear and high is a clue to the terrain you must be most cautious in. Have a good knife because you might not get to shoot the animal if it attacks because you are wrestling it. A shot has to be incapacitating to stop the attack. However a gaping knife wound is going to have a greater affect than a bullet hole. The cougar will instantaneously know,itmis badly cut. That has a good chance of getting it break off the attack.
Ok, so how do I know what I just said. Here is how. My last two tours in Nam were as a battalion (not Force) recon Marine. We operated on our own and did not have the protection from animals that larger units have. Not a lot of predators want to wander into a company strength area.
We worked in four, eight, twelve, and sixteen man teams. Eight was the norm. We were in I Corps, the northern part of South VN. That is tiger country, and some Marines were attacked by tigers who like cougars will eat you. No fatalities that I know of but some serious injuries. Generally only a few of us had 1911s unless we carried M3 A1s with no bayonet fix. We toted KA Bars. And others had M7 bayonets.
We were told if we were attacked by a tiger to use the blade to slice into the cat as many times as possible because the cat would be deterred by the hacking. Now I cannot not attest to whether that works or not because I never had to fight a tiger. You can be assured I am really glad to not of had the experience.
Fishinfool
Member
Ummm.... yep. Actually, the laughter following you everywhere would probably scare the pumas away ....
But seriously, this is indeed a tactic used by rural people in areas of India like the Sundarbans which still have significant populations of Bengal tigers with a long "tradition" of man-eating and where people are forced to work unarmed and often isolated in prime ambush country.
Doing that in a US forest would give a new meaning to the term "overkill". Bit like commuting in a Bradley in Boise.
I don't know, if I had a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, I'd commute to work with it...
Larry
Mistered
Member
Yep - Hard to convince people of this but every once in a while i encounter some gun laden neophyte who is 'protecting himself from cougars and bears'! - I usually tell them if they are that concerned then stay out of the woods.
THE PILGRIM
Member
Not too long ago, one of my sons was fly fishing a remote Utah mountain stream. It was starting to get around dusk when he heard a bunch of noise in the brush and a cow moose with calf came running out and plowed across the stream and disappeared into the brush on the other side of the creek.
He was wondering what had scared the pair when he happened to look up in the rocks and saw a large cougar peering down at him and the two disappearing moose.
Discretion being the better part of valor, and being a good mile from the truck, he decided to start wading very slowly back to the truck, "fishing" along the way while keeping an eye on the big cat.
He said the cat remained up on the ledges, but followed him almost the entire way to the truck. As he approached the area where he got out of the stream, the cougar disappeared.
My son said that it was a fairly unnerving experience. And while nothing happened, he also said that that was the last time he left his handgun in the truck while he went fly fishing.
Very well said. While we read of cougar and bear attacks, snake bites, falls off cliffs, etc, the chances of that happening are slim. One thing I learned during a career in the Corps: no point in worrying about dying or getting wounded. It won't change the odds.
Hmmm.
Your call is really important to us. Due to high caller volume, if you are being attacked by a mountain lion, please stay on the line and the next available operator will assist you.
If I can't legally carry a gun in puma country, I won't go there.
Your call is really important to us. Due to high caller volume, if you are being attacked by a mountain lion, please stay on the line and the next available operator will assist you.
If I can't legally carry a gun in puma country, I won't go there.
Mistered
Member
Can you legally carry a gun on Long Island, NY? I suspect that is MUCH more dangerous than 'puma country'
Qc Pistolero
Member
Same here in Québec.If a cougar,a raper or killer is about to jump on you,the law expects you to pick up your phone and dial 911.If you just shoot the cougar,raper or killer,you are going to end up in jail.
I'm not exagerating;last week a lady was paying her respects in a Montreal cemetary.A pug jumped her,took her purse and went away on his bicycle.She went after him and touched his bicycle with her SUV.She got her purse back,called 911 to report and to send an ambulance......and got charged with assault with a dangerous weapon!!!
Killing a cougar would bring the same kind of problems.As long as you are in possession of a firearm,you are guilty whatever the reason for it might be.
Qc
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Just an article in out local paper this week about a female adult being killed by game wardens in Iowa. Quite a few sightings in Missouri, and Illinois fave finally acknowledged several sightings in IL. It was originally thought only the roaming males were in these Midwest states, but now females are seen so it looks like we will have some permanent cats.
rburg
Member
Back to commuting in a Bradley. If I had to work in Detroit, it would be prudent. And why else would they need a tailgunner on a Budweiser truck? Just asking. As for walking armed, it just seems natural. When hiking in a group, it only makes sense for some to be armed. The people I know and trust almost all are. Big cats often or normally select the smaller of the targets. That would mean your wife or kids. Mistake on the part of the kitties. Many prey animals scatter when the cat springs. Humans will often attack the threat. Even mother deer want to protect their offspring, but none are as good at it as mean humans, particularly gun nuts. Go ahead and arrest me for protecting my wife or kids.
Next rule. If attacked and survive, remember what the nice officer says when he reads you your rights. No reason to make it easy on him.
Back to the knife thing. Can anyone tell me why a sheath knife might be superior to the folding knife? Hint, its already extended. Add into the situation that big cats seem to understand that wounded cats don' t last long in the wilds. Might be time to forget all the nonsense about good clean kills. Painful injuries to an attacker, human or animal might get them to break off the attack, least they earn another.
Next rule. If attacked and survive, remember what the nice officer says when he reads you your rights. No reason to make it easy on him.
Back to the knife thing. Can anyone tell me why a sheath knife might be superior to the folding knife? Hint, its already extended. Add into the situation that big cats seem to understand that wounded cats don' t last long in the wilds. Might be time to forget all the nonsense about good clean kills. Painful injuries to an attacker, human or animal might get them to break off the attack, least they earn another.
The above paragraph is the key to surviving. All animals know when they are in fight, and they know when they are hurt. exception is the drug crazed psycho. No question that a fixed blade is better than a folding blade ina fight against any animal human or otherwise. It is why I carry a KA BAR with a 7 inch blade when trekking or hiking. It is razor sharp. I do not use it for,p utility. I use my folding KA BAR for things like that. My fighting knife is just that and only that.
Texas Star
US Veteran
Your question about a sheath knife vs. a folder has been answered. Read my post about Mr. Anderson on Vancouver Island. One thing he stressed in our telephone interview was the difficulty in drawing and opening his Schrade folder. BTW, he cut the cat's throat to kill it.
My son had to kill a copperhead that he stepped on rapidly before it bit him. He opened his Benchmade folder one-handed and leaned down and decapitated the snake.
I've had to pull a knife on a couple of domestic dogs that were threatening me. In boh cases, it was a folder, because this was in town and I'd attract the wrong sort of attention if I wore a sheath knife. Both dogs, separate occasions, sensed the danger of the knife and retreated. I was lucky.
Had Harry Wolhuter had to open a knife as a lion dragged him off, he wouldn't have survived. His left shoulder was in the lion's mouth and that arm was unavailable to him. He drew his sheath knife and stabbed the lion twice in the heart. It released him and staggered off to die. I urge those posting here that a weapon won't help you to look at the Anderson cougar and the Wolhuter lion cases. Others have shot menacing cats. It is defeatist not to prepare for defense just because an enemy may surprise you. And I've read of cases where a cougar deliberately approached from in front, in sight of the intended victim.
The several people who used bicycles to keep a cougar off of them were also VERY aware of the cat.
It has been suggested that knife wounds may deter an attack. Yes: in the case a few years ago where a six year old boy was attacked by a cougar at a motel in Big Bend Natl. Park, the father drew what looked on TV to be a Spyderco Delica, a knife with a three-inch blade. It wasn't long enough to inflict a fatal wound but did suffice to scare the cat away. The boy survived, with a number of stitches.
The disgusting thing is, the motel didn't alert other guests, lest they lose business! Police hunted down the wounded cougar and killed it. I don't think the dad tried to cut the cat 's throat, probably the sole way to kill one quickly enough with a blade that short. But the injuries that he did inflict drove the cat away.
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Texas Star
US Veteran
Those interested should Search for Harry Wolhuter. You can find pics on the Net of his knife, a butcher's sticking pattern, as I recall. It had a simple wooden handle and six-inch blade and was made by I. Wilson, probably in Sheffield.
Wolhuter had actually stolen the knife from a store where it'd been left for customers to cut sample slices of cheese. He left his inferior knife in its place. Thankfully, the new knife fit his sheath.
The lion's hide and Wolhuter's knife and belt were on display at Kruger Natl. Park for decades, may still be.
South African custom knifemakers offer copies of the Wolhuter knife, some much closer than others. But you can get a knife as good or better by buying a Wusthof six-inch kitchen utility knife.
Not that I'm recommending it for lion defense. I'd feel better with a Randall Model 1, 5, 14 or a Fallkniven NL-2 or A-1, etc The military Ka-Bar is the cheapest I'd feel reasonably comfortable with. I'm quite sure it'd do the job.
Really, look up this incident. It's a thrilling account. And if it doesn't prove that a knife can save a life, what would?
Wolhuter had actually stolen the knife from a store where it'd been left for customers to cut sample slices of cheese. He left his inferior knife in its place. Thankfully, the new knife fit his sheath.
The lion's hide and Wolhuter's knife and belt were on display at Kruger Natl. Park for decades, may still be.
South African custom knifemakers offer copies of the Wolhuter knife, some much closer than others. But you can get a knife as good or better by buying a Wusthof six-inch kitchen utility knife.
Not that I'm recommending it for lion defense. I'd feel better with a Randall Model 1, 5, 14 or a Fallkniven NL-2 or A-1, etc The military Ka-Bar is the cheapest I'd feel reasonably comfortable with. I'm quite sure it'd do the job.
Really, look up this incident. It's a thrilling account. And if it doesn't prove that a knife can save a life, what would?
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Texas Star
US Veteran
A British officer in colonial India made just that point, no pun intended. I forgot his name, but he wrote in the 1880's, suggesting a knife much like Wilkinson's Shakespeare pattern. He warned to keep it sharp. Said it could save a man downed by a boar, maybe a leopard or tiger. I think his had an 8 or 9 inch blade. Checkered wooden handle.
