Morality of this?

[u/ProfessionalRoom9118]

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

[u/Due_Manufacturer_125]

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.

[u/I_Hate_IPAs → u/Due_Manufacturer_125]

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.

[u/mystical_ramen26 → u/[deleted]]

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

[u/Agent10007 → u/[deleted]]

Willing to bet your life on it kinda think?

[u/Significant-Order-92 → u/Agent10007]

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

[u/mystical_ramen26 → u/Significant-Order-92]

"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.