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Video: Woman Films Intense Standoff With Mountain Lion While Hunting in Colorado

A woman was forced to shoot a mountain lion after it nearly attacked her while on a hunt in Colorado recently, according to WYFF. The South Carolina woman filmed the terrifying incident on her phone.

Generally, wildlife experts say, mountain lions rarely confront humans. But this incident felt different from the outset.

The woman, only identified as McKenzie, was on a hunt with her dad in the woods in Gunnison, Colorado, earlier this month. In the video, the cat skulks out of the underbrush and begins to growl at her. The young woman repeatedly tries to shoo it away by acting big and yelling loudly. But it refuses to budge. After nearly two minutes, the big cat puts its ears back and flickers its tail, she wrote in the video commentary.

“Then everything started to happen in slow motion,” she later said in the video. “This was the moment when everything changed. I suddenly became more scared than I have ever been in my life because I thought this mountain lion was about to be on top of me and possibly killing me.”

So, having no other options, she said, she fired a single shot at it. The mountain lion jumped into the air then ran into the woods.

Police told her later that the shot had killed the animal.

“I’m very sad about that,” she said. “I wanted it to keep living. That’s why I tried so hard to scare it away. I didn’t want to shoot it. I mean, it was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen up close like that.”

She said she believed God had saved her life.

“I really do feel he was right there with me for the whole thing, kinda protecting me and getting me through it,” McKenzie said.

Second Viral Video With Mountain Lion In Two Months

McKenzie’s terrifying encounter with the mountain lion comes only two months after Ryan Burgess went for a run in Colorado and was stalked by one for more than six minutes.

In the viral video, Burgess runs into the animal on the trail. It instantly starts to growl and take an aggressive stance. Burgess backs away as fast as he can and yells. Yet, the animal keeps coming.

“I came upon the cubs, and that’s when I obviously pulled out my phone, to take pictures of the wildlife,” Burgess told Good Morning America. “Once I realized it was a mountain lion, she started chasing after me.”

It finally left him alone after more than six minutes.

OutThereColorado.com said the stalking cat was likely just protecting her young.

The website gives a list of what to do if you’re ever confronted by a mountain lion.

  • Slowly back away. Do not try to run away
  • Maintain eye contact
  • Make yourself as big as possible and make loud noises. Do not scream as it may mimic the sound of a wounded animal
  • Stay calm

A mountain lion also recently killed a family dog near a hot spring in Idaho. Experts say you should keep your pets close and on a leash when outdoors.