A college student was sitting on a bench reading in California’s Arcata Community Forest, when a mountain lion suddenly appeared, and the two had a good stare down. The unnamed college student captured a video of the encounter and shared it with a hiker passing by, who then shared it to a local Facebook group.
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Lore Bazemore is the passerby who shared the college student’s video to Humboldt County On Alert. She wrote: “Yesterday, in the Arcata Community Forest at the junction of Trail #6 and the upper part of the Jane’s Creek trail l met a young college student who show me this footage unedited. She had been sitting on the green bench, reading went out of the corner of her eye [and] she saw what she thought was a dog approaching.”
[RELATED: Mountain Lion Attacks Young Girl Outside Her Malibu Home]
Bazemore says the student started taking a video and stood up to show the lion she was a human (not prey). The mountain lion ultimately stared her down and then left peacefully.
When hiking in mountain-lion country, it’s a good idea to carry a deterrent spray (marketed as “bear spray”). Bear spray is also effective as a defense against mountain lions and other large mammals, such as moose.
See the moment a college student came face to face with a mountain lion here:
Header stock image by Murvin Morrow III/Getty Images
Best Bear (and Mountain Lion) Sprays
- SABRE Frontiersman MAX Bear and Mountain Lion Attack Deterrent
- Counter Assault Bear Deterrant Spray
- UDAP Pepper Power Bear Spray
- Mace Brand Bear Spray
- UDAP Griz Guard Bear Pepper Spray
Learn more about bear sprays here.
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