A man who was camping in Malibu earlier this month had a very close encounter with a mountain lion that was caught on video.
The man, only identified as Kevin, said that he and his family were camping at Leo Carillo State Park on Aug. 4 when the mountain lion approached him as he was at a ranger station to get cell service.
Footage obtained by Kevin and later KTLA shows him looking at his phone while sitting on an off-road vehicle. The mountain lion is seen coming out of some bushes and walking up slowly, not attracting Kevin’s attention until it was inches from him.
“Right as it came around the corner, I saw it,” he told news stringer service RMGNews. “I just tried to stay still, and it went right past me.”
Kevin, however, wasn’t just worried for himself in that moment.
“The kids that we had at the campground kind of made me nervous, since [the mountain lion] ran off in their direction,” he said.
Kevin explained further that he quickly informed park rangers of the sighting, and after getting the video from the park rangers, he wanted to share it so that others who want to enjoy nature can be aware in case of an attack. It was not immediately clear whether the puma Kevin saw was known to wildlife officials.
A camper had a very close encounter with a mountain lion in Malibu. Aug. 2025. (RMGNews)
A camper had a very close encounter with a mountain lion in Malibu. Aug. 2025. (RMGNews)
A camper had a very close encounter with a mountain lion in Malibu. Aug. 2025. (RMGNews)
The sighting by Kevin occurred just days before an 11-year-old girl was attacked by a mountain lion in the Malibu area. According to authorities, the girl was tending to her family’s chicken coop when the predatory feline attacked. She was hospitalized with serious injuries, and the cougar was euthanized after it was found hiding on the property.
There have been several other mountain lion sightings throughout SoCal in recent months, including one where a woman captured a close encounter on a hiking trail in Ojai in July. On Aug. 16 — just six days after the girl was attacked in Malibu and 12 days after Kevin’s encounter — a mountain lion was seen scampering through a home in La Verne before getting spooked and splashing through the home’s pool.
Earlier in the year, animal control officials chased a mountain lion through a Camarillo neighborhood before they were able to tranquilize and capture it.
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While they are rare, mountain lion attacks can happen. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, anyone who encounters a mountain lion should take these steps:
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Stay alert on trails. Keep pets leashed and walk with small children, don’t let them run ahead.
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Never approach a mountain lion. Give them an escape route.
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DO NOT RUN. Stay calm. Do not turn your back.
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Face the animal, make loud noise and try to look bigger. If with small children, put them on your shoulders.
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Do not crouch down or bend over.
Per CDFW data, there have been less than 50 mountain lion attacks in California since 1890. A total of six of them were fatal.
“In most cases, the person was alone when the attack occurred,” the department’s Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Mountain Lions webpage states.
More information on mountain lions, which are considered a “specially protected” species in California, can be found here.
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