Watch: CA Hiker Scares Off Mountain Lion Charging His Way

CASTAIC, CA — On a cool, cloudless Saturday, Dutch Faro, a 21-year-old musician and private chef, was happily hiking through trails near Pyramid Lake, deep in the mountains north of Castaic, jamming to indie music. In a split second, seemingly out of nowhere, a mountain lion charged toward him at full speed.

Faro cursed in shock. Immediately after, he did something that many might find counterintuitive: he roared at the lion and made big, aggressive gestures with his arms. As quickly as it came, the mountain lion ran back into the brush. Skip to the fifth post below to watch the video.

Faro later told Backpacker.com that he “resorted to [his] primal instincts”, and experts agree that his primal instincts were correct. Both the National Park Service and the Mountain Lion Foundation say that any human confronted by a mountain lion should stop, try to make themselves look bigger and more intimidating, wave their arms, and speak loudly and firmly: in other words, exactly what Faro did.

“Do not act timid or play dead in front of a cat,” the Mountain Lion Foundation advises. The National Park Service also warns against running away from mountain lions, which could prompt them to try to chase after you. That’s not a race you’ll win, unless you’re running away in your car: mountain lions can run up to 50 miles an hour, according to the U.S. Forest Service. You should also avoid crouching or bending over, since this might give a lion the impression that you’re a smaller, four-legged animal to be hunted.

At the same time, don’t move forward either. Travis Duncan, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency advises “backing away slowly and making yourself look large.”

Mountain lions do not perceive humans as prey, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation. To the contrary: mountain lions generally tend to avoid humans, whom they view as potentially dangerous hunters. With 4 - 6,000 mountain lions in California, the Mountain Lion Foundation said there would likely be “attacks every day” if mountain lions wanted to hunt humans. And humans in turn probably wouldn’t want to spend $80 million on a wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway to help facilitate their survival.

Instead, in the past 100 years, fewer than 20 people have died due to mountain lion attacks, according to MLF Executive Director Lynn Cullens. Conversely, humans are responsible for the death of more than 3,000 mountain lions a year in the United States.

So what accounts for Faro’s experience? Justin Dellinger, a large carnivore researcher for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told Backpacker that the lion in the video appears to be a “subadult” younger than two years old. As a result, it was likely inexperienced in hunting, and fled quickly. It is unclear what caused it to charge in the first place, but Dellinger said it may have been affected by Faro’s quick pace.

“I thought I was going to have to fight this thing,” Faro told KTLA. Just in case the mother showed up, Faro said he carried a stick with him for the rest of his hike.

For a full list of mountain lion safety tips, visit the National Park Service website.

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