A British Columbia woman recently shared an up-close encounter she had with a mountain lion while standing behind the “safety” of a pane glass window. According to @natureismetal, which re-shared @mandysnow‘s video on Jan. 20, the lion in Snow’s garage was munching on a house cat when it shifted its gaze to her and violently swatted the glass window between them. See it for yourself below.
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The video shows the cougar standing next to a Polaris side-by-side with something that resembles cat hide hanging from its mouth. When it notices Snow filming, it becomes agitated, bearing its teeth and hissing as it moves closer to the window. Then the big cat lunges forward and slams its sizable paws against the window with a thud. Thankfully, the glass holds, and Snow backs away unharmed as the short video cuts out.
Snow’s video has created quite a stir on the internet. Her personal Instagram post has racked up more than 300,000 likes and some 9,000 comments. When @natureismetal shared it on Jan. 20, the video put up similar numbers, and a Youtube post by ViralHog has been seen more than 11,000 times.
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While the footage is shocking, cougar sightings aren’t exactly rare in British Columbia. According to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, there are more than 3,500 cougars in the southern part of the province, and Vancouver Island has one of the highest mountain lion densities of any location on earth.
On its website, the B.C. government says that anyone who encounters a cougar should stay calm, keep the cougar in view, and back away slowly, as any sudden movements or sounds could provoke an attack. “Roaming pets are easy prey for cougars,” the website states. “If the pet must be left out at night confine it to a kennel with a secure top.”
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