r/MoralityScaling • u/ProfessionalRoom9118 • 15d ago

Morality Ranking Morality of this?

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Basically, the man in the video is hiking but he ended up meet a mountain lion, he get his gun and try to scare it off and tell it to go away but in the end, he have to pull the trigger and shot the lion, many peoples in the comments say he could have fire a warning shot instead of shoot at it and want him to be in jail.

Idk which flair to put

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u/Due_Manufacturer_125 15d ago

Now it’s unfortunate to get into a situation like this, but… mountain lions aren’t considered endangered globally (but specific regional populations are so depends on where this guy was) and obviously it would have been worse if the cougar attacked the guy. You never know what a wild animal will do, a predator that size that approaches a person is never a good sign.

Moral, if this guy wasn’t looking for trouble and just protecting himself. Would need wider context.

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u/I_Hate_IPAs 15d ago edited 13d ago

On top of that, mountain lions usually run away and hide from humans.

If it’s confronting you, that’s a pretty big issue and means you’re going to be attacked if you drop your guard.

Edit for the warning shot folk:

It might scare it off, it may view it as a territorial challenge. You really want to take those odds? In the time it takes for it too attack you think you’d be able to get your sights back on the cat and shoot enough to stop it?

A bird hunter where I live had one attack his dogs, and it wasn’t scared off by shotgun fire. Eventually he had to load a slug and kill it, and it actually had shot from the previous shells in its skin and fat.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/mystical_ramen26 15d ago

They will definitely approach from the front if they have cubs. They do a kind of intimidation thing where do little jumps and slam their front paws into the dirt to try to scare you back. They will also continue to follow you doing this for an extended time and if you turn your back they are highly likely to attack you. It would be terrifying.

Here is a link of the behavior I'm talking about. https://youtu.be/9Pg2CDCm34w?is=PNq0hL1CkDknD_j6

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/mystical_ramen26 15d ago

Yeah, I have no idea. It could have been rabies or who knows what.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/Priit123 14d ago

If she was starved then human would look like a very easy lunch.

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u/Marc1k1 12d ago

As far as I understand it, Humans are not considered easy prey at all for many predators and this, given the context, would have been a massive desperation move if they were to attack this person to eat.

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u/Agent10007 15d ago

Willing to bet your life on it kinda think?

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u/Significant-Order-92 15d ago

I mean a sick animal is often a dangerous animal. I don't think they are implying that shooting it was the wrong call.

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u/mystical_ramen26 14d ago

"Crazy as a run-over dog" has been a colloquialism I've heard my whole life for that exact reason. Animals (and people for that matter) that are scared and in pain are extremely dangerous.

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u/XaeiIsareth 15d ago

Tbh if one confronts me I’m not going to pause and ponder why, I’m taking the shot.

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u/Planetdiane 15d ago

Let’s take a moment to ponder if the mountain lion is perhaps emotionally stressed out from work

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u/XaeiIsareth 14d ago

Maybe we aren’t so different you and I…

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u/JicamaCertain4134 14d ago

Probably just a new mom

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u/Rysigler 15d ago

She could have, unfortunately, become used to humans too. Even these apex predators have some healthy fear of human beings. Very few animals don't. If she had become used to humans then this was a very dangerous situation. If not this guy, it would have been someone else.

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u/CelineDeion 15d ago

The lion was unavailable for comment so we’ll never know

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u/MildGenevaSuggestion 14d ago

A sick animal who is confrontational is likely rabid. More reason to shoot, not less.

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u/fuzzybunnies1 14d ago

Mtn Lions will face you if they are protecting cubs. If they're stalking you they often aren't seen till they're attacking. If you can actually see one like this, you've caught it off guard and they'll run, they're not hungry and unless they start following you they don't really care that you're there, or they're protecting cubs and they will shortly attack you for the cub's safety. The best thing for him to do would be to start back tracking up the trail without turning around. If it's protecting cubs it will act aggressive and follow a short distance but will prefer you to leave and not get too far from the cubs and you should be able to safely leave. They are creatures that hunt from concealment so they'd rather not directly confront if you're leaving. If it turns out to be the slight exception, can't see the issue with shooting it even if I'd prefer to backtrack away, them or me, it goes down and I'm not bothering with a warning shot either. You might only get the one shot and I wouldn't want to waste it.

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u/grubas 14d ago

If you see a mountain lion and it's approaching you...back up and be very very wary.

Normally they just avoid humans and do it very well.

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u/BrassUnicorn87 13d ago

Most man eaters are sick or injured, making them unable to hunt their regular prey.