TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — A Utah woman was hunting Saturday when a mountain lion came out of nowhere and briefly attacked her. She caught the tense interaction afterward on camera.
Laurien Elsholz was near Rush Valley in Tooele County when this happened. She wrote in a Facebook post that she smelled something dead, then heard a crashing noise before she felt the big cat grab her leg.
FULL VIDEO BELOW: Utah woman comes face-to-face with mountain lion
Fortunately, she only sustained a bruise and a small cut from the encounter.
"It’s one of my worst fears out in the woods. I just never thought I would ever have an encounter that close," she told FOX 13 News.
Elsholz said she believes the mountain lion was eating when she came across it because it smelled really foul in the area.
The cougar backed off after Elsholz hit it with her hiking stick, she said.
“I was terrified. I went into shock and the adrenaline was very high," Elsholz said. "I’m just happy that I made it out safe and that nothing else worse happened.”
WATCH: Orem man records tense mountain lion encounter in Slate Canyon
Her friends were a little further away, and she can be heard in the video telling them that she was face-to-face with a mountain lion.
She said she couldn’t back up once she came across it because of the brush, and she was trying to find a way around without turning her back to the cat.
Elsholz and her friends were able to get away from the mountain lion, but she said it followed them for about a mile before turning around.
READ: Facts about Utah's big, fierce cats
Wild Aware Utah gives the following tips for staying safe in mountain lion country:
The main prey of cougars is deer, so they will be found wherever deer are. They will also eat elk, antelope, small mammals and birds.
PREVENTING CONFLICTS WHILE RECREATING
- Do not hike or jog alone.
- Travel in groups and keep everyone together including children and dogs.
- Make noise while hiking to alert cougars of your presence.
- Leave the area if you find a dead animal, especially deer or elk, it could be a cougar kill. The cougar may return and defend its food.
- Keep a clean camp. Store food and garbage in an odor-free, locked container or hung between two trees where cougars (and bears) cannot get it.
IF YOU ENCOUNTER A COUGAR
- Stop. Never run from a cougar. Do not approach the cougar.
- Maintain eye contact.
- Pick up children and pets or keep them very close.
- Stand up tall.
- Do not crouch or squat.
- Make yourself look bigger by raising and waving your arms or jacket above your head.
- Talk firmly in a loud voice, back away slowly and leave the area.
- Fight back if you are attacked! Protect your head and neck.
- If you are aggressive enough the cougar will probably flee.
If you have an encounter with aggressive wildlife, please alert the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources office near you. If the encounter or sighting occurs after hours or on the weekend, please call your local police department or county sheriff’s office, who can contact a conservation officer to handle the situation.
