Hold it there kitty! Colorado hunter becomes prey after a mountain lion begins stalking him during tense stand-off
- Steve Shively was out hunting elk in the San Juan National Forest on Sunday
- As he replaced the memory cards on his trail cameras he saw a mountain lion
- The predator stared directly at Shively who slowly unholstered his 9mm pistol
- After a tense couple of minutes, the mountain lion retreated from the hunter
A Colorado man out in the woods hunting for elk found himself being stalked by a mountain lion which approached to within 20 yards.
Steve Shively was out on Sunday in the San Juan National Forest, near Bayfield when he suddenly noticed he had turned from hunter to prey.
After turning around on the trail, Shively spotted the large predator behind a rock staring directly at him.
After a tense stand off, the mountain lion started circling Shively who was hunting for elk
The mountain lion approached within 20 yards of the hunter who unholstered his pistol
The mountain lion eventually retreated from the scene much to Shively’s relief
During the video, Shively remains exceedingly calm advising the mountain lion: ‘Hold it there kitty. I see you. You be good, be good kitty. Behave. Go back on out of here.’
After a tense 30 seconds, the mountain lion stood up and started walking away, while keeping the hunter under observation.
Shively can be heard on the video saying: ‘Now behave!’ as the mountain lion loops around behind him.
Worryingly, the mountain lion stopped only around 30 feet from Shively as it pricked its ears to listen.
The hunter posted video of his encounter on his Facebook page where he wrote: ‘This happened to me Sunday night while scouting for elk and changing memory cards in my trail cameras.
‘After changing the memory cards and rustling around in the leaves, I stood up and turned around slowly scanning the woods behind me.
Colorado hunter Steve Shively, pictured, found himself within 20 yards of a mountain lion who sneaked up behind him on a mountain trail in the San Juan National Forest near Bayfield
‘Suddenly, I spotted this motionless mountain lion crouched down behind a rock ready to pounce on me. He/she had silently stalked to within 20 yards of me through the dry crunchy fall leaves on the ground and I didn’t hear him/her approach… it freaked me out especially after watching that video last week of the mountain lion chasing the jogger in Utah!’
In an interview with CBS 4, Shively said: ‘He had a fixed stare at me and didn’t flinch while I pulled my 9mm out of my pocket, racked one in the chamber, and fumbled with my cell phone… he only moved when I started talking to him on video.’
In 2019, a mother in Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island, fought off a mountain lion who attacked her seven-year-old son who was playing in the back garden.
According to ABC News, Chelsea Lockhart could hear her son struggling outside their home.
She said: ‘I ran downstairs and I ran toward his voice. I turned the corner and saw this animal on my child. He was on the ground and the cougar was attached to his arm. I had a mom instinct, right? I just leaped on it and I tried to pry its mouth open.’
Luckily her son escaped with cuts and bruises.
In February 2019, Travis Kauffman was running on Horsetooth Mountain in Colorado when he was attacked by a young mountain lion.
He said he spotted the lion when it was ten feet away when it pounced.
He said the animal clawed at his face and neck. He wrestled with the animal and stood on its neck.