Don’t run, bend or crouch; if a cougar attacks, fight back with whatever is at hand, even your bare hands
A mountain lion, also known as cougar or puma, watches the lights of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean at night. Photo credit: iStock California, the richest and most populous US state, witnessed its first fatal attack by a cougar in two decades on March 23, when 21-year-old Taylen Robert Claude Brooks died and his 18-year-old brother Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks was injured in an attack by the feline, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.
The two brothers were outdoorsmen and had gone to the woods near the community of Georgetown in the county on the border with Nevada, when they came across a cougar.
They tried to appear larger by raising their hands in the air and shouted at the animal. But it did not retreat. It charged and attacked Wyatt and subsequently Taylen, who died in the attack.
Officials later euthanised the cougar.
The cougar, known by a bevy of names including puma, mountain lion and panther, is one of the two great cats of the Americas, the other being the jaguar. Pumas are found across the length of the American continent — from Yukon in Arctic Canada to the Patagonian Andes in South America.
In recent years though, its range has been diminishing due to anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and urbanisation.
Down To Earth reported in 2020 that puma habitat in California was predicted to diminish 35 per cent by 2030. Road collisions, fires and poaching of their wild prey were some of the main threats facing the species.
A study in 2022 found that pumas “maintained relationships with an astounding 485 living species and played a critical role in holding ecosystems together throughout the Western Hemisphere”.
Another study last year found that pumas could be ‘gardening’ their hunting spots to attract prey animals.
Officials in the United States have been quick to point out that a fatal cougar attack is very rare. The Guardian noted that the last time this happened in California was in 2004, according to state data.
El Dorado, the country where the attack on the brothers Brooks took place, saw its last fatal attack in 1994.
Read What can you do to prevent an attack in tiger territory? Follow these simple rules
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) agency of the federal government has a list of dos and don’ts that one must follow if one is in cougar habitat.
For example, one must never run past or from a cougar as it triggers its instinct to chase.
“Make eye contact. Stand your ground. Pick up small children without, if possible, turning away or bending over,” the FWS says on its website.
One must also never bend or couch down. Doing so may make a human resemble a cougar’s four-legged prey. “Crouching down or bending over also makes the neck and back of the head vulnerable,” the FWS adds.
What should do if a cougar attacks as happened in the Brooks’ case?
“Try to remain standing to protect head and neck and, if attacked, fight back with whatever is at hand (without turning your back)—people have used rocks, jackets, garden tools, tree branches, and even bare hands to turn away cougars.”
One must also never approach a cougar, especially one that is feeding on a kill or a female with kittens.
“Don’t approach a cougar. Most cougars want to avoid humans. Give a cougar the time and space to steer clear of you,” according to the FWS.
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