Help getting over my fear of mountain lions?

[St. Phatty]

I was very impressed by an opossum I met about a year ago.

It was licking up a water dish, basically some sugar water that is marketed as a "Smoothie".

It's a metal water dish, on a concrete surface.

Actually I find that is a good combination, if you want to see the night time visitors. It's really noisy, can't miss it, and most animals big enough to move the water dish on the concrete are worth seeing.

What impressed me was the size of its jaws. Its head looked a lot like a pit bull.

When I opened the door, it exhibited no fear, or aggression. Maybe I should put some cannabis in the water dish to heighten the effect.

Well anyway, it took a step towards the door opening. I took a corresponding tiny step blocking the space. It took a step back.

It was similar to how I can sometimes herd the chickens.

He seemed like quite a friendly large rodent type animal.

 

[Betterhaff]

I was very impressed by an opossum I met about a year ago...

...He seemed like quite a friendly large rodent type animal.

Don't kid yourself. Opossum will sometimes "play possum" when threatened but can also be quite aggressive when provoked.

 

[redlaser]

Opossum look like they would be bad news with all those teeth, but they move like they are in slow motion, their biggest downfall with predators and vehicles. In high school a friend of mine would pick them up when they look like the above picture. He was fairly drunk and it wasn't too cool to the opossum. Always a sight to see them with a bunch of attached babies walking around

 

[stoned-trout]

possum are cool....yeehaw....my dog used to bring em to me....have had a family of em living out back in yard before too...theres more of a chance of some high ass tweeker attacking you in the woods,, than a mountain lion..as someone who has spent lots of time in the woods I have only seen a few even when looking... but I run into tweekers all the freaking time...

 

[mean mr.mustard]

We've gone from apex predator to varmint.

Opossum is to mountain lion as Hershey's kisses are to fat fifth grader.

 

[Storm Shadow]

 

[420somewhere]

Yeah my dog killed two Possums last week..

Yeah my dog killed two Possums last week..

I had an encounter with a Mountain Lion about 20 years ago..

I was scouting for deer up the West Fork in the San Gabriel mountains. I had a tag and had the combination to the trailhead gate.

I decided to take my wife and young (6 or 7) son to show them where I would be hunting the next week. I had located a spring near the end of the trail using Google Earth.

It was probably a mile walk to the spring.... I was armed. I heard a Mountain Lion roar from the bushes above us. We were alarmed and I had my wife and son get closer to me.

I was never worried about Mountain Lions before this incident. The only ones I had seen before were already dead.

I would not go "running" in the woods and carry a large caliber pistol when visiting thier habitat.

I like my Ruger 44 Mag but a .357 should scare them away.

Don't be afraid, be the Hunter.

 

[Midwest sticky]

Damn right,^^ don't put yourself in a ambush situation that's how mountain lions hunt. Be aware of your surrounding's. And definitley don't go for a stroll in the woods unarmed.

 

[St. Phatty]

I find that wild animals tend to abandon their normal caution around humans, when they are desperately hungry or thirsty.

In the case of a fox, this might be 2 1/2 days after the onset of summer heat. So it worked out last summer.

In the case if California, with all those suburbs built in mountain lion territory, loss of habitat by definition ... sort of like building a home on Shark Reef in Tasmania, and killing most of the local fish, then going for a swim.

Normally, if some young woman or other attention getting person sunbathes topless in their backyard, it's only the meter-reader and perv neighbor, and normal red-blooded guys that might notice.

And now mountain lions are staring over the fence, thinking about food ?

I'm familiar with the Rancho Penasquitos area of San Diego. Very dry, LOTS of canyons - wild areas for large kitties to stare over backyard fences.

I bet this summer one of those cougars bags a Fido (someone's pet dog.)

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

bring a box, cats love boxes

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

Like medmaker420 said, take a slower friend.
Then you don't have to outrun the Cougar, you just have to outrun your friend. LOL

wouldnt 'a cat' go for the prey running away first?

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Not if they're hungry.

 

[Earlmarne]

Lions are almost zero threat to humans. Unless injured or very small.
We have cats all around up here. You are lucky to ever see one.

 

[stoned-trout]

Your morning likely to run into a backwoods inbred guy who wants you to squeal like pig, then a mountain lion...both wanna get you from behind tho.....yeehaw....they make hats nd stuff with eyes in the back supposed to help..also having high back backpack when hiking...with some animals running is the worst thing to do...I know what I would do ...

 

[420somewhere]

Only 3 people killed by mountain lions...

Only 3 people killed by mountain lions...

Lions are almost zero threat to humans. Unless injured or very small.
We have cats all around up here. You are lucky to ever see one.

Only 3 people killed by mountain lions since 1997.

 

[stoned-trout]

The lions need to up their game..we are short on lions and overpopulated with people...plus it keeps wussies out of the woods....yeehaw

 

[944s2]

The lions need to up their game..we are short on lions and overpopulated with people...plus it keeps wussies out of the woods....yeehaw

i would starve in the local park let alone the
American wilderness.lol,lol,,,s2

 

[Green Squall]

Anyone ever read Red Snow by Oliver Lange? Fucking gnarly book.

Into The Mountains,
To Track The Killer Lion...
Driven By Lust...
Ravaged By Hatred...
Their Violence Explodes.