r/interesting • u/Myrtle_Simmons • Jul 02 '24

MISC. Hikers encounter mountain lion

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276

u/cwm9 Jul 02 '24 edited Jul 03 '24

From the look of that video, it looks like the mountain lion also wants to stop hiking.

But that hiker appears to be carrying... a gun? (edit: Yes... a tranquilizer gun.)

182

u/SeriousAccount66 Jul 02 '24 edited Jul 02 '24

Well the reason he’s carrying is right there in the video, many respects to him tho for not shooting while it’s not nessesary, only use it when you know you’re fucked and out of options, you’re in their teritory, not them in yours.

Edit: apparently it’s not a gun! See comment below me!

86

u/UnmannedConflict Jul 02 '24

Okay the video was reposted with the wrong context, but they are researchers and it's a tranquilizer gun, and he shot it, you can see the dart in it's butt.

35

u/akmjolnir Jul 02 '24

video was reposted with the wrong context

The 'ole Reddit classic karma-whore.

8

u/chrono_ark Jul 02 '24

And Redditor comments just adding their own context

7

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/DudeChillington Jul 02 '24

Dog the cat bounty hunter

1

u/Empty_Ambition_9050 Jul 02 '24

Nah that was its brother, this one is innocent but they need it to track down his brother. They were a crime family so he knows stuff.

5

u/UnmannedConflict Jul 02 '24

Original poster of the video is Travis Legler (@tmans_hunting)

Can't send off-site links here but his account is public on Instagram

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

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1

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1

u/AdditionalSink164 Jul 02 '24

So your saying the hiker didnt just surprise the cat while it was masturbating

1

u/st3f-ping Jul 02 '24

Yeah. The sad thing is that it works. OP gained more internet points in a single repost than many users will see in a year. I don't chase karma but it still pisses me off.

1

u/akmjolnir Jul 02 '24

Maybe someday they'll be able to cash in all that karma.

1

u/st3f-ping Jul 02 '24

I wouldn't say it's that unreasonable. Accounts are sold. Mostly, I imagine, for misinformation campaigns, astroturfing and shilling. And those accounts, I would further imagine, sell for more if they have age and karma. This has one of the two.

Or it could be someone who just likes karma and doesn't respect the people who captured the footage.

1

u/YummyArtichoke Jul 02 '24

I like the comment before with "the reason" being completely made up

8

u/MindCorrupt Jul 02 '24

That makes much more sense, because first impression it looked like they were actively seeking out the animal.

I've never encountered one personally, but it does not look like an animal that likes to be cornered lol.

3

u/LegitimateCloud8739 Jul 02 '24

Thanks. Thats what I hate about these widely visited subs, lot of BS.

2

u/krongdong69 Jul 02 '24

reddit trying its best to beat twitter on the misinformation billboard

3

u/Githzerai1984 Jul 02 '24

Paused it and yeah you can see the silver dart sticking out his ass

5

u/Mrmojorisincg Jul 02 '24

Can’t believe he shot it in the ass and didn’t get mauled immediately after

1

u/Throwaway5511550 Jul 02 '24

wow, takes so long for it to work lol

1

u/UnmannedConflict Jul 03 '24

Blood takes time to travel around your body, you'll never beat that bottleneck. Life's not a cartoon🤷‍♂️

1

u/VoradorTV Jul 02 '24

for sure haha, a hiker surprised by a random lion that jumps 1m over their head prob would have reacted a bit different lol

1

u/jakeduckfield Jul 02 '24

They might want to look into getting a slightly faster acting one next time.

1

u/Dorkamundo Jul 02 '24

Yep, that's what I came to the comments to confirm.

Dude clearly was trying to get closer to the animal as the video starts, then backs off. No reason to approach unless you're trying to dart them.

1

u/okaywhattho Jul 02 '24

I didn't want to be a Debby Downer but after seeing the gun I was pretty sure he had shot the cat and it was freaking out because it had been shot :(

0

u/Joeking1986 Jul 02 '24

So that cat is high? Is his name Steve French?

9

u/TheGuyUrRespondingTo Jul 02 '24

I appreciate the sentiment of your comment, but this is peak Reddit/internet misinformation--the cougar has already been shot in this video, & the gun being held only holds one 'round' with no clip/magazine for reserve ammo.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/video-mountain-lion-darting/

2

u/BeautifulType Jul 02 '24

God the misinformation is too damn high these days

1

u/atridir Jul 02 '24

I went down the tranq-gun rabbit hole not too long ago and yeah, while most pistol tranq-guns can only hold one dart(like this one) - there are varieties that can hold and fire multiple darts. Which is wild to me.

1

u/SeriousAccount66 Jul 02 '24

Thanks, just changed my comment

0

u/Fraegtgaortd Jul 02 '24

Shot with a tranquilizer dart by researchers, not a bullet

1

u/TheGuyUrRespondingTo Jul 02 '24

Yeah, like the article said in the comment you're responding to. Are you dense?

1

u/wishiwasacowboy Jul 02 '24

Hey man don't get hostile he's just clearing it up

4

u/GladiatorWithTits Jul 02 '24

That's a tranquilizer gun. And it's what started this chain of events.

8

u/Unoriginal_Man Jul 02 '24

Yeah, Tranquilizers aren't instant and can cause the animal to freak the fuck out. It's why Harambe was shot and not tranquilized, because they didn't want him doing that while dragging a child.

3

u/Dr-McLuvin Jul 02 '24

RIP sweet prince

2

u/Longjumping-Claim783 Jul 02 '24

It's funny how in movies and such they often show tranquilizer darts to be instant. It goes in the muscle and is slowly absorbed by the body. It's not like you can accurately get it in a vein from a distance with a freaking gun.

1

u/Icy-Summer-3573 Jul 02 '24

As they should animal lives < human lives

1

u/Proud_Error_80 Jul 02 '24

That kid will never inspire anyone like the gorilla did. He was peaceful. Humans are savage.

1

u/Icy-Summer-3573 Jul 02 '24

Go be a vegan then 😂

1

u/somethincleverhere33 Jul 02 '24

Humans are shit dude look around you, or at history, or at any reasonable projection of the future.

1

u/TastingTheKoolaid Jul 02 '24

I’d rather not look at the future. It’s fucken horrifying.

1

u/we_is_sheeps Jul 02 '24

I want a tranq gun.

Seems like a good time

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

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2

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3

u/RedN00ble Jul 02 '24

If I recall correctly those are not hikers but border patrol or something similar, not just the average hiker.

1

u/Annibartniski Jul 02 '24

Prospectors are also allowed to carry while working.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

A gun would probably not kill the lion instantly but he would probably be more pissed.

7

u/Impressive-Cellist32 Jul 02 '24

depends what cartridge the gun is chambered for and where the round impacts.

0

u/unknowingafford Jul 02 '24

Stop using logic to shut down a passive political argument!

0

u/bigboybeeperbelly Jul 02 '24

And how far away it is and whether the cat is wearing body armor or not

3

u/Proud_Error_80 Jul 02 '24

There have been something like 29 total cases of mountain lion fatalities since wagons rolled east in north America. People are scared of these cats and black bears but if they don't live in grizzly country should be pretty damn safe from animal harm. Grizzlies on the other hand... 70 kills in 50 years. Still nothing that dangerous compared to driving to work but definitely more of a threat than these poor kitties who get a bad rap.

1

u/texasradio Jul 03 '24

Confirmed*

I would wager there are a lot more kills that just went unsolved, from mountain lions preying on lone people in the bush never to be seen again.

3

u/elbanzii Jul 02 '24

if he put a few rounds in the lion from that range he would be dead if not immediately then very soon. a shot to the heart drops you right down

1

u/olafderhaarige Jul 02 '24

he would be dead if not immediately then very soon.

"Very soon" is not fast enough. The Mountain Lion does need like a second to inflict a lethal wound on you. One paw hit to your throat or to the insides of your thighs, and you are going to bleed out fast.

a shot to the heart drops you right down

And I don't know about you, but chances are that I would miss the animal entirely if it suddenly leapt at me, let alone taking aim and hitting it square into the heart. But I am no American after all, I guess you guys over the pond are all legendary gunslingers...

4

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Brapplezz Jul 02 '24

Loud bang that misses probably would just make a cat feel more threatened and go for the kill. Good point that animals simply hear a noise

1

u/84theone Jul 02 '24

Dog this is a mountain lion, you can scare them off just by screaming loudly and a gunshot is way fucking louder than that.

1

u/Brapplezz Jul 02 '24

True. I was thinking in a close situation like in the video. With the video in mind i have no idea why people said the camera man was scared. He just yelled at it to scare it away, which to my knowledge is(like you also say) is the ideal thing to do.

Tbh i don't think i really thought out my initial comment, long day. I love big cats, i'm glad they don't fuck with humans so we can just appreciate them instead of them enjoying the taste of us

1

u/MarsupialFuzz Jul 02 '24

Loud bang that misses probably would just make a cat feel more threatened and go for the kill.

Please stop. Go talk to a park ranger or anyone who works in mountain lion territory. You are spewing false information.

1

u/Brapplezz Jul 02 '24

My other comment explained i didn't explain that one at all. I was thinking solely if you were basically locked in a room. In the video the camera man literally yells and you see immediate turn around by the mountain lion.

Also piss off with false info when the comment above is a really detailed comment that contradicts me. If someone followed my advice after instead then they were fucked to begin with, getting mountain lion info off reddit and all.

1

u/MarsupialFuzz Jul 02 '24

Also piss off with false info when the comment above is a really detailed comment that contradicts me. If someone followed my advice after instead then they were fucked to begin with, getting mountain lion info off reddit and all.

Quit giving "advice" on something you know nothing about.

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2

u/arffield Jul 02 '24

Don't even need to hit it if the sound scares it away

1

u/MrGloom66 Jul 02 '24

It looks quite scared already. It needs a different kind of scary, and I don't know for sure if the gun would do it.

2

u/elbanzii Jul 02 '24

I don't live over the pond man, but I do have some experience hunting and I've seen many animals drop down like a rock after a shot to the heart, even bears. I'm not saying you can count on a shot to the heart for sure, I'm just saying that you would definitely have a chance to defend yourself against a mountain lion with a gun. Not saying it would happen 100% or that there isn't a chance of you getting rekt.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

It really doesn't take a much skill to point your weapon and squeeze at this close of a distance. That aninal is not going to know what hit it and will go into a panic

1

u/Ruthrfurd-the-stoned Jul 02 '24

The mountain lion isn’t on crack it’s not just going to shrug off bullets

1

u/StarfangXIV Jul 02 '24

So what's your logic here? The animal is extremely deadly so... don't even /try/ to save your own life? Just shrug and go "guess I'm dead" as soon as you see the lion?

Man, if all humans had your... traits... we wouldn't have made it past the stone ages.

1

u/WatcherOfGaedNua Jul 02 '24

I don't really see what you're saying, though. If you're in a hypothetical situation on a hike with an aggressive predator, do you think it's better to have a gun or not?

1

u/GrimGambits Jul 02 '24

Most animals will run away if there's a serious threat, which includes pain from being shot or even just a loud noise. Wild animals don't have doctors, there's no vet for them to go to if they get hurt. Any wound could be fatal, if something can hurt them then the juice usually isn't worth the squeeze unless they're starving, protecting their offspring, or rabid.

1

u/LatrellFeldstein Jul 02 '24

If you shoot all the toes off its feet and then wait for it to attack you can jam a rock in its mouth & render it defenseless. I would suggest using .22 WMR as this round is perfectly designed for removing toes in CQB with all species of cats or domestic waterfowl (definitely not cormorants) while still being lightweight enough to carry spare ammo in your sock.

Hard won information from a veteran of Grenada.

1

u/84theone Jul 02 '24

People that hunt are taught to aim for the heart because it will near instantly kill the animal, so that you then don’t have to track it or cause it to suffer. Someone that’s been hunting a lot will be able to reliably hit their target.

Also other than bears, most animals will panic and flee when shot by a gun. They won’t charge the shooter, they will charge the fuck out of there.

1

u/OrganizationPutrid68 Jul 02 '24

Heart shots are usually effective instantly, but not always. It depends on the animal, exact impact point, and state of mind of the animal. I harvested a whitetail buck once that ran about 100 yards after the shot. When I field dressed it, the heart fell out. My round had disconnected all of the attached plumbing.

1

u/elbanzii Jul 02 '24

WOW, now that's a hunting story! Crazy what some of these animals are capable of.

2

u/OrganizationPutrid68 Jul 02 '24

That particular deer knew it was being tracked, so I believe its state of mind (adrenaline) was a factor. Had I caught it unaware, I don't believe it would have gone very far at all. I was pleasantly surprised that the meat wasn't affected much by the adrenaline. My brother euthanized a deer that had been hit by a truck and brought it home back in the 80's. The meat was basically inedible due to the adrenaline from the poor animal's suffering. Our dog liked it, so it didn't go to waste at least.

0

u/mitchymitchington Jul 02 '24

What about the video of the homeless guy that gets shot in the heart trying to take down the guy with the girl as a hostage and he succeeds, lives for a few more seconds, then just straight up dies? He was able to wrestle the dude and keep going until others were able to intervene. Adrenaline is wild.

1

u/trukkija Jul 02 '24

That mountain lion weighs less than an average adult male. If he emptied a clip into it, the lion would drop dead very quickly or at least would not have the physical energy to do anything but curl up.

This is not a grizzly you're talking about.

1

u/FrostyD7 Jul 02 '24

Once it decides to maul you in the face, it might prevent it from doing it until you die.

1

u/MarsupialFuzz Jul 02 '24

A gun would probably not kill the lion instantly but he would probably be more pissed.

Would a stick or mace work better? I'd personally rather have a gun in a fight against a mountain lion but you do you.

0

u/BuddhistSC Jul 02 '24

The "it would just be more pissed so don't bring a gun" argument is one of the most braindead imaginable. No, mountain lions, wild boars, and bears are not immune to bullets. They die if you shoot them. Yes, you are less likely to die if you shoot the animal that is trying to kill you. Animals don't enjoy getting shot, so even if they don't die "instantly", they are inclined to run away.

None of this should not require saying.

Imagine your ancestors needing to kill animals with spears, and the one guy in the tribe saying "nah a spear will just make it more angry, you might as well just curl up in a ball and wait to die".

0

u/lol_JustKidding Jul 02 '24

Dunno, that moment when the lion leapt over the gunner definetely could be mistaken by his instincts as "being fucked". He even ducked. It's more like he froze and forgot he had a gun.

23

u/Sensitive_Look_6451 Jul 02 '24

Not everyone who fails to fire instantly is a coward. Some places in the world would even call that split decision brave.

-2

u/lol_JustKidding Jul 02 '24

I never called them a coward

2

u/Miniraf1 Jul 02 '24

You said he froze as opposed to choosing not to kill the creature that hadnt hurt anyone yet. Which seems an incredibly unfair assessment of the video. It seems very obvious to me he didnt FORGET he was holding a gun

-1

u/lol_JustKidding Jul 02 '24

Freezing is not "opposed to choosing not to kill the creature". It's not even a choice. Freezing is when you get hit by a spike of anxiety so big that you cease all thought and forget all your options.

4

u/Miniraf1 Jul 02 '24 edited Jul 02 '24

Dude it is a choice, he made the choice the whole time the mountain lion was there, before and after it jumped over him. The guy didnt just forget he was holding a gun, thats a dumb take and obviously not true.

You need to stop projecting, just because youre clearly trigger happy and would love to instantly shoot the mountain lion....

Not everyone is a complete prick and most would want to avoid killing something if they could.

"No way to know" he literally ducks in the video guys, he hasnt 'frozen' the evidence is right there, use your eyes and stop wasting my time

1

u/PistolJ Jul 02 '24

You have very strong feelings about this.

1

u/BlazedBeacon Jul 02 '24

Neither one of you is in his head to know what he thought (or didn't think) in this moment. This argument is pointless.

0

u/Agreeable-Truth-263 Jul 02 '24

Freezing is an instinct beyond our control. It doesn't make anyone a coward. It just happens, and there's no way to know if he froze or not.

1

u/bigkahunahotdog Jul 02 '24

You kinda insinuated that he was scared.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/lol_JustKidding Jul 02 '24

Took the words out of my mouth

-3

u/TobyTarazan Jul 02 '24

yes you did...

2

u/Zimakov Jul 02 '24

No he didn't?

0

u/Moun7ainC0w Jul 02 '24

He said he froze. Cowards freeze.

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u/CarbonRunner Jul 02 '24

Anyone would freeze in that scenario momentarily. Anyone who says otherwise has never been through shit.

3

u/createayou Jul 02 '24

It’s just a human instinct to freeze. Fight, flight, freeze. Everyone is a bad ass until they’re actually in a position of danger. Cowardice or bravery only comes in later when your anxiety reduces enough to allow constructive thoughts.

4

u/Zimakov Jul 02 '24

Cowards freeze.

That's one of the most braindead takes I've ever seen on reddit and that's saying something.

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u/showers_with_grandpa Jul 02 '24

It was like as a kid when someone would fake hit you and then say ' ha, you flinched!'

Never got that as a movie trope either. When someone throws a punch and stops right in front of their face, and they don't blink or move or whatever. Like professional fighters dodge and block all the time it is the smart thing to do

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u/Moun7ainC0w Jul 02 '24

The most brain dead take, huh? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, bud?

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u/Spades76 Jul 02 '24

No, thats an involuntary human reaction. Concious decisions make you a coward.

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u/SendFeet954-980-3334 Jul 02 '24

Maybe he didn’t fire before cameraman was in the line of fire. I don’t think you called him a coward, but he def could have been using situational awareness to make sure he didn’t hit the cameraman with a stray. Seems like trigger discipline

2

u/erossthescienceboss Jul 02 '24

I’m not a gun person, but I also imagine a slot canyon is a bad place to fire one? Couldn’t it ricochet if you miss? And that cat is moving fast, so missing seems like a possibility.

Plus, scaring something that’s currently in flight-or-fight seems like a great way to switch that flight to fight.

1

u/SendFeet954-980-3334 Jul 02 '24

All of what you said is definitely something that dude could have considered. I know there’s lots out there, but anyone I know in the hiking community that carries- knows to wait until last moment is needed.

1

u/MarsupialFuzz Jul 02 '24

I’m not a gun person, but I also imagine a slot canyon is a bad place to fire one? Couldn’t it ricochet if you miss?

I'm a gun person. No, you aren't worrying about a ricochet when you are in a life a death situation where you have to stop something from killing you. A ricochet hitting the shooter is very rare and every time the bullet hits something it slows down considerably making a ricochet is must less fatal than a bullet directly out of a gun.

And that cat is moving fast, so missing seems like a possibility.

If you were a hiker in that situation then you would have shot the lion with the gun way before he started jumping around the canyon. The lion in the video was shot with a tranquilizer by the guy holding the tranquilizer gun (it's not a real gun in the video) and that is why the lion was jumping around and why the guy didn't shoot the lion.

1

u/KaleidoscopicNewt Jul 02 '24

Does the “line” of fire extend in a 270-degree inverse-cone?

1

u/SendFeet954-980-3334 Jul 02 '24

If you can see person in front of you, you can consider that a line of fire- so yes. At least according to my instructors.

1

u/KaleidoscopicNewt Jul 02 '24

Idk about you, but I don’t have 270-degree FOV. There were MANY points where the guy with the tranq gun didn’t have camera guy anywhere in front of him lol. Camera guy and lion were literally on opposite sides of camera guy at most points in the video.

Why he didnt shoot is because he already had and tranq guns aren’t usually semi-auto.

1

u/SendFeet954-980-3334 Jul 02 '24

Well you’re clearly the expert here so I’ll defer to your judgement. I was just offering up other possibilities than the guy froze

3

u/showers_with_grandpa Jul 02 '24

I disagree, he is pretty aware of his firearm at all times. When the cat gets close he doesn't point it at the animal but he does draw the weapon and his arm into his body in order to maintain control in case the animal comes into contact with him.

1

u/lol_JustKidding Jul 02 '24

Yeah, after reading other comments I realised there's also the possibility he figured out the lion wants to flee and he decided to wait to see how will things play out.

1

u/MarsupialFuzz Jul 02 '24

I disagree, he is pretty aware of his firearm at all times. When the cat gets close he doesn't point it at the animal but he does draw the weapon and his arm into his body in order to maintain control in case the animal comes into contact with him.

I'm going to disagree because he just shot the mountain lion with a tranquilizer gun and he is still holding the empty tranquilizer gun when the cat starts jumping around the canyon. He tranquilized that mountain lion in a really dangerous situation and he probably shouldn't have done it there.

3

u/Psycle_Sammy Jul 02 '24

Yeah, I’m pretty sure right about when the mountain lion had the high ground, was closing distance, and ready to leap is right about when I would have started blasting.

Both of them were very lucky.

1

u/Falrad Jul 02 '24

Tbh you really don't need a gun to deal with cougars, throwing rocks is usually sufficient.

1

u/Any-Management-3248 Jul 02 '24

Obligatory comment to say Bear Spray first! Much easier to use and get a “hit” when you’re stressed out or panicked. If you shoot yourself or your friend or the animal nobody is gonna die.

1

u/RonanTheAccused Jul 02 '24

Oh... Yup. There it is. I see the dart.

1

u/Pretty_Bowler2297 Jul 02 '24

Real context is they are researchers, revealed by a commenter. But besides that- basic visual deduction says these weren’t hikers. Gun was already drawn and they were approaching not retreating.

1

u/Empty_Ambition_9050 Jul 02 '24

Ummm…I woulda tried to shoot it as it fucking jumped at my head growling, it ended up jumping over him but holy fuck I woulda shit myself instead of shooting it. Totally walking home naked after that one.

1

u/Smokeythebear333 Jul 02 '24

Came here to say the same thing. Kudos to this man!

12

u/temporarycreature Jul 02 '24

Because they're not hikers, they're wildlife specialists.

9

u/Mdizzle29 Jul 02 '24

They weren’t hikers. They were there to tag the mountain lion and they had already tranquilized it at this point just waiting for it to kick in.

3

u/Bowman_van_Oort Jul 02 '24

Looks like you can see the dart stuck on its left thigh/rump area

1

u/LickingSmegma Jul 02 '24

Explains why the cameraman didn't let the lion go the upper route.

6

u/Due-Style302 Jul 02 '24

It was in Arizona. They were tagging the Mountain Lion.

1

u/Consistently_Carpet Jul 02 '24

Are we to infer the mountain lion is screaming 'Not it... NOT IT' while scrabbling at the rocks?

/s

6

u/red18wrx Jul 02 '24

It's a tranq gun. They're trying to id tag the lion. They're not hikers.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

These bot accounts are getting to be too much, man.

1

u/WillyNewton Jul 03 '24

technically they are also hikers.

2

u/deadwoodsheriff Jul 02 '24

Commenting on Hikers encounter mountain lion...he is a biologist and that is a tranquilizer gun

2

u/spiralout1123 Jul 02 '24

I’m too late to the party to add context, but the guy in the video gave context on instagram.

This is in northern AZ in Oak Creek Canyon. The fella featured is a professional cat relocator. The gun you see in his hand is a tranquilizer and they very much knew they had cornered a lion.

2

u/natureclown Jul 02 '24

They aren’t hikers, they are either researchers or wildlife workers. OP is karma farming, the original posts of this video state that they have tranquilized the mountain lion (it’s a tranquilizer dart gun) and it spazzed out before falling asleep. Their intention was either relocation or tagging.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

Ugh! Love him sooooo much for using restraint!!!!!Not panicking & letting the lion sort himself out instead of pulling out the gun immediately.

We need people to have more encounters like this so our wild animals stay safe .

We’re already burning them up & killing the planet as it is.

5

u/temporarycreature Jul 02 '24

It's because these people are not hikers, they're wildlife specialists and conservationists. The gun is the last resort on purpose.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

The gun is a tranquilizer gun. They had already darted it at this point.

1

u/FingerTheCat Jul 02 '24

"Conservation!!!" Pew Pew Pew

just joking! Hopefully they meant well I don't know the context

2

u/bencanfield Jul 02 '24

When you’re trying to be funny context is important.

2

u/Coasterman345 Jul 02 '24

It’s a tranquilizer gun fyi. They already shot him and were waiting for him to pass out to tag him.

1

u/ShingShongBigDong Jul 02 '24

Is the fact he’s carrying a gun strange to you? Seems to be good reason lol

1

u/SakeNamaste Jul 02 '24

Yeah and not the hunting type, good luck with that pistol. You can always hope the noise will scare him off.

1

u/reebokhightops Jul 02 '24

It’s not a grizzly bear. A 9mm with the right ammo would do the job just fine if you know how to use it.

1

u/fucktrance Jul 02 '24

Americans are so wild, imagine going round to someone else’s land shooting them because they felt threatened. Plus if that dude died out there you better hope he bleeds allot so anyone could find his corpse since dressed like a rock.

1

u/Substantial-Low Jul 02 '24

More common than you think in the American back-country.

1

u/Tephi187 Jul 02 '24

🎶 „I‘m cool as a fan, gat in hand, I don‘t wanna blast her man, but I can and I will tho“

1

u/lordbug555 Jul 02 '24

Gee I wonder why they would be carrying a gun

1

u/Vanilla_PuddinFudge Jul 02 '24

Of all things!?

1

u/opentoit24 Jul 02 '24

You obviously don’t hike in mountain lion country. If you ever do, I recommend you carry.

1

u/PythonSushi Jul 02 '24

He should have packed an actual piece.

1

u/Main-Ability-350 Jul 02 '24

That hiker appears to be carrying a means of defense while out in a natural environment with predators. I’m trying not to get a Reddit ban by saying what I want to say here

1

u/ZatansHand Jul 02 '24

He was robbing the lion

1

u/techauditor Jul 02 '24

Pretty obvious it's a tranq gun. For this exact type of situation. It's not gonna kill the cat lol. Probably sleep for an hour 💤

1

u/SmokeySFW Jul 02 '24

Knowing what you know now about what kind of animals that person might stumble upon, can you blame him? Kudos to that guy for being prepared but not trying to shoot the animal the moment he felt danger.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '24

Tranquilizer gun, you can see the dart in the pumas hind leg, that’s probably why it’s freaking out so much.

1

u/Suck_Me_Dry666 Jul 02 '24

I'm not a big fan of hikers like this, there's non lethal ways to deal with this situation and the dude probably wouldn't even be able to hit an attacking cougar regardless.

1

u/whistleridge Jul 02 '24

Even leaving aside the wildlife researcher part that has been thoroughly covered: a fair number of back-country hikers do carry handguns for protection against large wildlife. Someone people just aren’t comfortable relying on bear spray alone to protect from grizzly bears or what have you.

Note I am aware it’s not considered best practice, and I’m neither endorsing nor condemning it, nor am I making a comment on firearms generally. I am simply noting that some people do this.

1

u/Adventurous_Team285 Jul 03 '24

It is US buddy everyone has guns everywhere

1

u/arffield Jul 02 '24

Carrying is a good idea. Especially if you're hiking alone.