NEED TO KNOW
\nTwo mountain bikers had a frightening encounter with a mountain lion in CaliforniaThe cyclists were on a trail in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, a public park in Lake Forest, Calif., when they came face to face with the cougarThe cyclists captured the incident on video<\/p>\n
During a recent bike ride in California, a pair of cyclists stumbled upon a mountain lion.\n<\/p>\n
The mountain bikers shared their story \u2014 along with footage of the frightening, face-to-face encounter \u2014 anonymously with ABC7 Eyewitness News<\/a>. They were trekking a trail in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, a public park in Lake Forest, when they caught a glimpse of the mountain lion nestled in some bushes, according to the outlet.\n<\/p>\n Footage of the incident shows the mountain lion \u2014 the species also known as a cougar, puma or panther \u2014 lurking in some brush at the Orange County park, peeking its face tentatively from a spot behind some leaves.\n<\/p>\n At one point, the cat emerged from the brush, however, and hit the trail.\n<\/p>\n The mountain lion slowly approached the pair from a distance, according to footage of the incident that the anonymous cyclists shared with ABC7<\/a>. It got much closer and faster at one point, trotting along the trail as the duo began backing away.\n<\/p>\n Stock image of a puma.<\/p>\n Carlos A Carreno\/c3.photos via Getty<\/p>\n The pair had slowly started moving away from the creature, while keeping their eyes on it and their bikes in between them, when the animal began following them, the outlet reported.\n<\/p>\n In the footage, one of the bikers can be heard yelling at the panther, \u201cGo away, kitty!\u201d Elsewhere, they seemingly used some expletives, as ABC7 censored a portion of what they said during the run-in with a bleep.\n<\/p>\n After heading over a hill, the cat continued to follow before making one final, scary charge at the pair, according to the outlet. It later scampered off of the trail, footage shows.\n<\/p>\n The bikers escaped unscathed, per ABC7.\n<\/p>\n Mark Girardeau, a scientist and wildlife photographer, told the outlet that the mountain lion in the Orange County encounter appeared to be a young juvenile. He also said the creature appeared unsure of its actions.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI’m assuming, because it’s such a young mountain lion, because it still has spots, it probably recently left mom, and it’s probably just not sure of what to do,\u201d Girardeau told ABC7, adding that the animal may have just been \u201ccurious,\u201d and \u201ctrying to figure out what these humans are.\u201d\n<\/p>\n A trail at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.<\/p>\n Marc Martin\/Los Angeles Times via Getty<\/p>\n There was a second reported encounter with the same mountain lion, and park rangers have been alerted to the situation, ABC7 reported, citing the scientist. A mountain biker was previously killed by a cougar in the area in 2004, according to the outlet.\n<\/p>\n The Mountain Lion Foundation offers advice on its website for those worried about running into one of the cats in the wild, as the Orange County bikers did, on its website<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n The California nonprofit advises anyone visiting, hiking or mountain biking in the animals\u2019 territory to first and foremost, pay attention to their surroundings, and notes that a sighting alone should \u201cnot be cause for fear or alarm.\u201d\n<\/p>\n