Bear saves man in mountain lion attack

Curious how many people here have actually had bear encounters, or are simply blowing smoke out their *sses.
Pumas, Mountain Lions, Cougars, Panthers are all the same animal. They are the largest predatory cat in North and South America and come in various colours depending on regions and genetics. They really just have different names for what is essentially the same animal. Anyone seen one in the wild? If you haven’t stop talking, they are incredible creatures to behold. They are ambush predators and prefer pouncing on prey from trees or cliffs. It could have been in the tree (or whatever high place) it was in as a result of the mother being in the area, wanting to avoid confrontation. But, if it was hungry, or sensing an easy meal with an unaware human could have attacked. Its rare though as a full size human is off putting to cougars. Most prefer children and youngsters due to their size. Bear attacks of any kind on humans are generally quite rare. I’ve had black bears walk right through my group I was hiking with. Attacks are usually due to threats on cubs, or a perceived threat to their food. Would I approach anywhere near a grizzly? no, they are generally more aggressive than blacks, but are still primarily herbivores, though they are omnivorous overall and will take meat when the opportunity presents itself. All that being said the guy was still to close, and if he had been ‘playing with the bear’ he was being reckless and irresponsible, not only for being able to avoid being attacked by the mother, but for getting the bear, and the cub used to being around humans.

• Link
• Report this comment

same animal, the name is different depending on the region of north and south america and language with which it was originally named.
they range in colour from black,to grey, to sandy brown, and there are various subspecies, eastern, western cougars etc. My experience with them is from living here in canada, first on the east coast, where I saw one not 1km from my house, and then here on the west coast where they are fairly common, and have not been extirpated from their native ranges.
I shudder to think about the people commenting about nature stories who never, ever have been for more than a walk in their local park. Nature is not something to be afraid of, but to observe, study and appreciate, because where media perpetuates the myth that bears are deadly ferocious, the reality is they are generally docile creatures that can be ferocious if need be. Nature doesn’t like to expend energy if its not necessary, its to hard to build up energy reserves (which is why you generally find that the further north you go the more aggressive the bears and wildlife, as their is a shorter time to hunt and gather the food and therefore the required energy) to survive the harsh winters.
To the person who posted about the Documentary Grizzly Man, what you neglected to mention in your comment about the man being killed by a bear, was that he was able to successfully live in the same area as Grizzly Bears for 13 years. The young male (who are typically more aggressive then adult males as they must overcompensate for their lack of size) he knew to be a problem. yes, it was a bear that killed him and his GF in the end, but after thousands of hours in their presence and in their habitat I’d say he proved the point that you don’t have to be afraid of them all the time as they are NOT a blood thirsty killer all the time every time

• Link
• Report this comment

I live in Magalia Ca. so this happened in my neighborhood

• Link
• Report this comment

wow there are so many people that have no life what so ever so they go on line to see who and what they can make fun of. bears are not all that dangerous they are just like people in a way. we both have kids,we both do what we can to protect are little ones. the guy was there befor the mountain lion was there taking pic’s and the mamma bear did nothing to the man then the mountain lion came up behind him while taking pic’s of the mamma bear and her cubs and acted him. the mamma bear saw the mountain lion and acted it to protect her kids. if the mountain had never showed up the man would have never been acted and the mamma bear would of not had to protected her kids. she know the man was not a threat to her kids. and for thouse who dont know mountain lions and panthers are the same here is what it says in the encyclopedia. Panther: (Large cats) Panthera, the feline genus which contains lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars
Panther (in Africa and Asia), the leopard (Panthera pardus)
Panther (in North America), the cougar or mountain lion (Puma concolor) Florida panther, a subspecies of cougar (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) found in southern Florida

Panther (in South and Central America), the jaguar (Panthera onca)
Black panther, a black variant of leopard, jaguar or cougar
White panther, a white or very pale variant of leopard, jaguar or cougar
Panther (legendary creature), a mythical creature resembling a large multicolored cat

• Link
• Report this comment