Family has encounter with cougar in backyard of home

April and Greg Havener had a close call when a cougar came face-to-face with their family’s cat and 2-month-old puppy near their home in Monroe, Washington.

[@CruzanKenny]

Seems like the cat distracted the cougar enough for them to run.

[@wownewstome6123]

What? *Never run from a cougar or bear.* It triggers them to see you as a prey animal. National Park Service has best advice? There's actually a lot to know about each type of encounter.

[@nexpro6985]

Hot tip of the day: NEVER turn your back on a large predator.

[@linx7130]

the cougar already turned around and started chasing after the cat. they are 20 feet from the door I think its okay they ran into safety Mr survival expert

[@geoffh1]

​@@linx7130Just because it turned out okay here, doesn't mean they handled it correctly.

[@wownewstome6123]

Yes, never turn your back.......and move slowly.....never run! It makes you look like their prey.

[@nexpro6985]

@@linx7130 the tip still applies. And yes I know it turned around but if you turn your back on it you won't see if it turned again.

[@nexpro6985]

@@geoffh1 thanks.

[@wownewstome6123]

Anyone else read Mountain Lion Safety by the National Park Service? Some of its many points: Remain standing; slowly raise & move your arms to appear bigger; talk in a firm, loud voice. Don't run. Make eye-contact. Pick up small children without bending over or turning your back on the mountain lion, otherwise you look like prey. If you can grab items without bending down or squatting, throw items at the mountain lion.

[@TruckeeDwaynee]

Hes beautiful!!

[@theblanklogo]

When you see a cougar that close, you ask it if wants tummy scritches.

[@itsicandy]

I wonder what it was thinking because it totally missed the free range chickens lol. I wonder if it was going for one of the two house cats that were fleeing around where it stopped.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

If it's never encountered these things before, the instinctual confusion could have been on its mind. Remember: animals aren't like humans; their brains do NOT function the way we process information. If anything, it's more about adrenaline and instincts.

[@chobiden7770]

it was a young one just trying to catch their cat.

[@cdfdesantis699]

Cougar got in suburbia & just wanted OUT.

[@the13xiii52]

Had some encounters with cougars myself. ☺️

[@nexpro6985]

Costly? 😁

[@the13xiii52]

@@nexpro6985 No, they go 50/50 or pay themselves.

[@EpicCureMD]

so strange, it completely ignored the chickens(easier prey). Prob just goofy off. Didn't seem to be hunting.

[@bearbait2221]

Of course a city-idiot MD would look at an apex predator and say "Its just goofin off" derp derpitty derp derp

[@ethanevans1574]

Was searching on KZbin for a different cougar in backyard video and found this happened a day ago, coincidences are so weird.

[@jcarter1313]

Look at that cougar (rawr) scooping up her puppy and running inside. Did you also see the Puma?

[@Dimaz42]

_~you were encountering a cougar in the woods~_ You: _~Get BiG~_ Cougar: _Challenge accepted!_

[@MADGUNSMONSTER]

Is it me or have i seen a bunch of Bear and Cougar encounters in the last week or two (mostly California)? If i cant safely take a nap and let my childern run around my ENCLOSED backyard, then i might as well say in the gotdamned city.

[@ultraspinalki11]

Winter is over, they're hungry, and every year we're shrinking their natural habitats. It's gonna get worse from here.

[@notanindianscammer7594]

It's just you

[@mattsmith4589]

0:35 He ran right past those chickens he clearly wasn’t hungry luckily 😭

[@richardbeckenbaugh1805]

This is the time of year when juvenile cougars are looking for new territories. They’ve just been run off by their mothers and are looking for new places to lay up and hunt. They’ll snatch anything that looks like it might be edible, a puppy, a cat or a small child. Because Washington state banned cougar hunting they’ve become a nuisance all across the state because there are no longer wolves to keep the population in check. Until Washington either imports wolves or allows hunting again, run ins with cougars will continue to be a problem.

[@lisacrafton7485]

😮

[@lisasmith9311]

We had some around here a mom and her cubs

[@judithanderson4419]

Looks to be a young one

[@mingzheng55339]

I did comment on ABC instagram when bears invaded peoples home, and i did mention wildlife such as bears, pitbulls, eagles, cougars, mountain lions, bob cats, and other unknown wild life encounters 10 years ago (they hacking data mining me). This occurs when both population grows and the poverty extends its reach up the borders in north region of america closer to the forest and mountains. Thats why you need forest rangers with "Pitbulls" seperated from the city into protecting the rangers patrolling the forest and caves. Yes its a job for people who doesn't have a job and installing a camera on the pitbull for tracking in remote forest. IDK why it got deleted you never know if a eagle big enough snatch a kid at very young age.

[@ArizonaSquatch]

Why was someone's hot mom left in the backyard?

[@CEOkiller]

The teenage son did not run in the house with the rest of the family…

[@wownewstome6123]

Wow, dangerous advice. Fact: *Don't do the same as with bears.* With bears, you talk to the bear in low tones (avoid being loud, avoid high pitched-squeals, bcuz they may think you are a prey animal. A scream or sudden movement may trigger a bear attack. If only the National Park Service had an artic le "Staying Safe Around Bears" ; D *Too many key points to include here.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

All kittehz eez good kittehz, but some kittehz are dangerous. 😕 Instinctual animals take instinctive actions. You wouldn't be seeing nor hearing this story on the news if anything bad happened or if the big cat chomped a pet and carried it away.

[@liatris69]

Lots of cougars at our local bar…

[@CEOkiller]

The teen son was the only one who didn’t run away… oh, wrong kind of cougar…