patrick.net

MoneySheep says

Victim #1 saw his friend being pulled by the cougar. He got on his bike and started to bike away and survived to tell the tale.

You can hardly blame him.

I went running about 8am one summer morning in Huddart Park here on the peninsula in 2014.

About halfway up the hill toward Skyline drive, I thought "damn, that is a big yellow dog with a very long tail above me up the hill" and then "people aren't supposed to have dogs in the park, where is its owner?" and then "oh shit, that's not a dog".

It was only about 20 feet above me on the switchback, but I guess it could not smell or hear me because of the vertical distance and trees. Then the mountain lion saw me, and took off unnaturally fast. Like no dog can run. Like the creature from Alien fast.

Then I had the dilemma of continuing to run up the deserted path or back down the deserted path. I turned off the music, picked up a stick and kept running upward, figuring that since it was afraid enough of me to run, it probably was not going to attack.

End of story, but could have been the end of patrick.net. I don't run alone in the park in the early morning anymore, and I have zero interest in conserving things that can easily rip me apart, even if they are warm and fuzzy.

Marker shows where it was in the park:

Neither of them deserved to live, together they should have survived, but it's everyone for themselves. All you need to do is pick up a rock or find a weapon, a stick, anything will do, this is how man learned to survive .. by using that opposable thumb. The trick with cougar is not to turn your back to it. Even if my head was in it's mouth I would have my fingers in it's ears and looking to gouge an eye. Never give up. In territory like that I'd be carrying mace, knife, and maybe even a gun.

I'd carry a revolver or mace. The attack stories wouldn't change though. "It attacked out of nowhere." These cats kill you before you know they're there. Good luck w that 6 shooter

Mountain lions are almost invisible for the most part. The attacks are so rare related to human population and the number of mountain lions out there, they are barely worth mentioning. If mountain lions had it in for humans, there would be reports on a daily basis rather than a rare report over many, many years.

In one of my neighborhoods, there is a mountain lion in the arroyo. My wife and I were walking in the dark, and we saw a dark figure slink in some close by bushes. I had a hiking light on my head, and the figure shifted it's head right at us like a cat aka very big cat with big eyes shining back in reflection from the headlamp and my wife saw it too. You are not supposed to run away from them, but it is almost impossible to restrain fear and not do so. We walked away very fast. That area of the bushes is a favorite resting spot for deer and bambis.

The lion has been hanging around, because twice it has been right outside my study window at night. One night, I heard a loud thump on the wall outside my study, then Wild Kingdom growls, snarls etc of something being attacked. I could not see, but it was a cat, and the sounds were sometimes almost bird like tweets in between very loud snarls, growls and loud meows??, scary effing shit. The next day, I could barely see any disturbance around the window outside for whatever was being attacked (raccoon?). There were scats on the front porch. We are away a couple of days a week at a second home with this one dark, so maybe the lion has made it a place to stalk deer or raccoons hanging around the house. (House sits right across from arroyo, whereas most of the houses in development are in further away from arroyo).

I thought that would be a one time experience, except another brawl occurred last week, but about three feet away from my study, with the snarling, growling, tweeting etc and a large hoot owl in the tree participating with loud hoots. It was otherworldly. Again, very little signs of disturbance.

None of my neighbors have ever seen this cat around, which shows how subtle it is..

I am not worried about it being there, because I am sure it is not the least interested in people. It probably keeps the deer and other overpopulating animals at bay.

"Why am I your friend again?"

"Because I can run faster than you."

Today I learned that if I ever take up jogging, do so with someone who can't run as fast as I can.

everything says

should have survived, but it's everyone for themselves. All you need to do is pick up a rock or find a weapon, a stick, anything will do, this is how man learned to survive ..

He could've started by throwing his bike at the fucking creature. Instead the fucking coward decided to flee and leave his fellow biker in mortal danger. Him ending up dead is a fucking poetic justice.

If my buddy was attacked by a cougar, I’d toss him a few condoms and laugh at him the next day.

Here I thought this topic was about Hillary Clinton scouring for young men in the woods.

Not what I thought this thread was about.

everything says

Neither of them deserved to live, together they should have survived, but it's everyone for themselves. All you need to do is pick up a rock or find a weapon, a stick, anything will do, this is how man learned to survive .. by using that opposable thumb. The trick with cougar is not to turn your back to it. Even if my head was in it's mouth I would have my fingers in it's ears and looking to gouge an eye. Never give up. In territory like that I'd be carrying mace, knife, and maybe even a gun.

I love your fighting spirit but if a big cat wants you dead, you’re dead.

BayArea says

everything says

Neither of them deserved to live, together they should have survived, but it's everyone for themselves. All you need to do is pick up a rock or find a weapon, a stick, anything will do, this is how man learned to survive .. by using that opposable thumb. The trick with cougar is not to turn your back to it. Even if my head was in it's mouth I would have my fingers in it's ears and looking to gouge an eye. Never give up. In territory like that I'd be carrying mace, knife, and maybe even a gun.

I love your fighting spirit but if a big cat wants you dead, you’re dead.

Yup, a cougar can kill a grown elk, a little human is no match.

lostand confused says

Here I thought this topic was about Hillary Clinton scouring for young men in the woods.

HRC is more of a battle-cat than a cougar

The mountain lion was politically incorrect, and thus, deserved to die:

"According to the Seattle Bike Blog, Brooks (pictured) was an avid biker, who co-founded Friends on Bikes Seattle to create a bike community where women/trans/femme/non-binary people of color could come together and have fun on bikes."





A Seattle/Portland mountain lion should have known better and only killed a cis-gendered white male, preferably by first attacking his genitals.