Caught on Camera: Hiker's Close Call with a Mountain Lion

A Terrifying Encounter Between an American Hiker and a Mountain Lion Ends Safely: Jared Smith from Salt Lake City, Utah, set out for a hike on May 13 in the Broads Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon when a mountain lion appeared and followed him for five tense minutes. Smith recounted the incident to Fox 13 News: 'I was heading down the trail, probably about a mile from the parking lot, when I heard something. I looked up and there was a mountain lion, 13 to 20 feet away from me... it definitely startled me.'

Smith said he remained calm, backing away slowly, trying to make himself appear 'larger,' as experts suggest. 'He actually followed all the recommendations we give... make yourself big, use a loud voice, maintain eye contact, and back away slowly,' said Faith Heaton Jolley, a wildlife expert in Utah. 'That's exactly what we advise because if you turn and run, sometimes it can trigger the mountain lion's hunting instincts.'

Despite his actions, the mountain lion continued to follow. As Smith backed away, the lion occasionally bared its teeth and flicked its legs and tail. 'If you watch the full video, you can see each time that happened, my voice got a bit higher because I was scared it was the end. At one point, she was about ten feet from me,' Smith said.

In the footage, Smith can be heard repeatedly saying, 'I'm walking away now, I promise not to bother you,' but the mountain lion kept trailing him. In a post about the incident, Smith suggested that there might have been cubs nearby: 'Honestly, the most important thing to me is my family, and I had to ensure I'd get home... I know mountain lion attacks are extremely rare, but I believe she was probably protecting her cubs in this situation, and I know mountain lions will do almost anything to safeguard their young.'

After what felt like an eternity of about five minutes, Smith said the mountain lion suddenly veered off the trail, allowing him to safely return to his vehicle. 'Suddenly she changed direction. I continued to back away for another minute or two, talking because I couldn’t see where she went. After a few minutes, once I felt she was no longer close to me, I started to run and tried to get away as safely as possible. I eventually made it to my car.'

Smith wrote in his post that he was a bit shaken by the encounter but overall okay: 'It was the scariest thing in my life. Of all the hundreds of hours I've spent hiking, mountain climbing, and other outdoor experiences, it just felt like it lasted forever.'

Smith's wife, Jenna, said her husband hasn’t been able to think about anything else since that day: 'He was shaken up the entire night. He just kept saying how scared he was, going over it again and again,' she said. 'He was absolutely terrified, and I was simply grateful he came home unharmed.'

But despite the unusual encounter, Smith says it won't keep him from hiking again. 'It will definitely take me a few days to process this before I get back on the trails, but I love it too much,' Smith said. 'I understand it's a very rare event, not something that's likely to happen again. I'll be back on the trails soon.'