A man in the United States had a terrifying and prolonged encounter with a mountain lion while hiking. Fortunately, the giant feline was able to leave him alone.
Man is chased by mountain lion for five minutes of panic and terror
Jared Smith was in the Broads Fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City, Utah, yesterday (Thursday, May 13) when he was hit by the big cat.
He drove it for the next five minutes, and Jared, who tried to look big as well as calm as he came back and repeatedly said, “I’m leaving, I promise I won’t bother you.”
Somehow he also managed to film at the same time, which of course is great news.
COUGAR SIGHTING – Salt Lake City resident Jared Smith was hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon today when he had a close encounter with a cougar and caught it on camera. Full story – https://t.co/tnF8FUW3JK (Video – Jared Smith) pic.twitter.com/BFb7PTdLnJ
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) May 14, 2021
Speaking about what happened, Jared told Fox 13: “I was running back down the road and it was probably a mile back to the parking lot when I heard something on the side of the road and I looked and there was a mountain lion probably 15-20 feet away from me, it definitely scared me.”
“Periodically the cougar would pounce and show its teeth and raise its paws and tail, almost like a little sprint towards me.”
“If you watch the whole video you can see that my voice cracked at some points because it scared me.”
Anyway, when the cougar followed him, Jared’s only concern, was getting safely to his family.
Jared Smith continued, “Honestly, the most important thing to me is my family and I have a wife and a son and I think I have to make sure I don’t lose them.”
Fortunately, the giant feline was able to leave him alone after a few minutes of panic.
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, “he would have been better off standing his ground, maintaining eye contact and playing hard to get.”
