Mountain lion encounters are rare, but if you encounter one, here are 5 ways to stay safe

"There's definitely a correlation between human activity in outdoor recreation areas and wildlife sightings," Hart told The Arizona Republic."But there's also the wildlife factor. The wildlife is going to be more active in fair weather because when it's hot, they're hunkered down like we are.

"If you're spending time in the backcountry, you've likely had a puma encounter, you've just never known about it because that cat steered clear of you," said Neils, who studies the cats in southern Arizona."There's been several instances where I've fortuitously snuck up on a preoccupied cat then you're both a bit startled. In those cases, you should feel really lucky that you've seen one of these majestic animals in the first place.

Dr. Julie Young, a carnivore biologist and professor at Utah State University, echoes this as one of the primary strategies for deterring any potential bad cat behavior. Young has spent the bulk of her career looking into ways to reduce wildlife-human conflict. A few key lessons have surfaced as a result of that work.

"Mountain lions will always take the exit," said Dr. Mark Elbroch, puma program director for Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization."And always, of course, is a strong word because once in a while, something bad happens. But as someone who has been professionally harassing lions for so many years, I can tell you that it is almost always that they take the exit. And it can be the tiniest exit and they'll squeeze through it. They just want an out.

For people who encounter mountain lions, Hart also recommends letting the Arizona Game and Fish Department know. With the advent of home security cameras, lion sightings are more common than ever and the department has a hotline set up to take calls of this nature.

Great article.

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