Ah, the magnificent and deadly puma! How I love and respect her. I did have one run in with a cat while hiking with my son and our dog. The dog went into a drainage and started barking. I heard some grunting noises and called out, thinking a homeless man had camped in there, but nope. The dog came flying back out, and loud cougar chuffing noises started. My son and I looked at one another, and he bolted down the trail. I backed my way down the trail so as not to trigger the chasing instinct, and to try and use the get big and stare her down tactic. However, she didn't come after us, thank God!!!
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LOL! Your son pulled a "my brother"😆 Not that I blame him at all!
I'm so glad that lovely lady decided to not pursue you, that was very obliging of her, and you were seriously amazing to keep your wits about you enough to not bolt:)
I'm pretty sure the 'run away' instinct is stronger than just about anything. You can tell yourself all you want in planning, but it sure kicks in when the chips are flying.
Oh yes he did. There's a saying about running away from apex predators: You don't have to run the fastest, you just have to run faster than the slowest guy.
Lore tells that you're supposed to fight back if a cat attacks because they freak out when you do. They like soft targets and surprise ambushes.
Or else you can try a meme I saw that suggested petting them the wrong way. Ymmv haha!
I am very conscious about the spoor when I hike, and I had seen mother and baby cougar prints the previous year right by there. Long may they rule the foothills.
Much love to you and yours