iStockphoto / CarlHaynes13
Wild animals are, exactly as the name implies, wild and unpredictable. That’s why in parks like Yellowstone they ask all visitors to stay 100 yards away from bears/wolves and 25 yards from bison…But they don’t mention what to do when you suddenly find yourself mere feet away from a mountain lion.
This close brush with the southern California mountain lion occurred in the Toro Canyon area of Montecito, just east of Santa Barbara and not all that far from the Santa Barbara Zoo. In instances such as this, it is always natural to wonder if the wild animal was prowling around because it smelled/heard other animals in the region without realizing the scent was coming from the zoo… But there’s no evidence of that and there are an estimated 3,200 to 4,500 mountain lions (or pumas/cougars) in California according to the latest population estimate.
This video on TikTok has picked up hundreds of thousands of views in a short period of time. And the first question many are asking, myself included, is why didn’t they roll the car’s window up with the mountain lion mere feet away?!
The top comment on the video, unsurprisingly, says “having the window open was a wild choice.” As I was scrolling through TikTok yesterday and came across this mountain lion footage I literally said out loud, to nobody at all, “why is that window open?!” as if my phone could somehow hear me.
Another comment that really resonated with a lot of viewers is “he allowed you to continue in this lifetime.” That’s a roundabout way of saying that if this Montecito, CA cougar had wanted to it could have lurched at the car, through the window, and made headlines in a very different way. For anyone questioning the athleticism of these pumas, here is a video from 1 year ago in Montecito, California, the same town this video was filmed, of a mountain lion leaping over a tall security fence like it was nothing:
Ultimately though, the big kitty wanted to be left alone and it all ended well. And they were fortunate to have the camera rolling when the cougar got close because I certainly would not want to make any sudden movements with that thing a few feet from me.
Content shared from brobible.com.