A viral video shows how it feels to be face to face with a lion in the middle of a jungle. The video, posted by ViralHog on YouTube, gives us a spine-chilling glimpse of an encounter between a hiker and a mountain lion. It was a shocking incident not only for the viewers but also for the hiker who filmed it. The video begins by showing us some beautiful mountain ranges and the dry forest in the region. But soon the man starts to run. When the camera turns backwards, we see a mountain lion chasing him. However, the hiker stopped and was able to ward off the wild beast with “a roar at the last minute”.
The incident occurred on January 8, 2022, in Los Angeles, California in the USA. The caption to the video read, "I was stalked by a mountain lion so I ran up on and scared it away with a roar at the last minute." The video has been liked over 1,900 times on YouTube, where it has collected 3.2 lakh views.
Viewers praised the man for his presence of mind. A user wrote, "Good call. Screaming like that confuses them. Predators don't like to have confrontations if they don't have to." Another wrote on similar lines, "That's exactly what you should do. Scream as intimidating as you can. If you run you're only their chase now."
Many were horrified to imagine what would have happened had the man not looked back to face the mountain lion. A person wrote, "Wow. If he hadn't turned around, that would have been a painful, frightening end for him." Another comment read, "It could have been your neck if you didn't turn around when you did."
Some also recollected their experiences with wild animals. In fact, hikers in the forests of California often spot mountain lions. Last year, two hikers in Southern California encountered a lion that held its ground and stared at them for almost two minutes before backing down. These hikers also had to shout back at the lion in order to shoo it away.
