BOZEMAN \u2014 Barbara Frangos and her daughter, Maisy, are visiting Montana for the first time. As they made their way up the \u201cM\u201d trail, wildlife safety was already on their minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am concerned, but I just want to be more safe if anything,\u201d said Barbara.
\u201cFirst hike, we have several planned. We figure this is the most populated one and hopefully the safest,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, a Facebook post from a local woman gained nearly 900 reactions after she claimed she saw a mountain lion during her morning hike at the \u201cM.\u201d That sparked the question: just how rare is it to see one of these stealthy big cats?<\/p>\n
Stay informed and safe! Watch our video coverage on how to handle wildlife encounters while hiking in Montana, featuring tips from the experts.<\/b><\/p>\n
Stay Alert: Experts Warn of Mountain Lion Presence in Bozeman Area<\/p>\n
To find out, I spoke with Morgan Jacobsen, the information officer for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is quite unique to be able to see one, and it doesn’t happen every day,\u201d Jacobsen said.<\/p>\n
Still, Jacobsen added that encountering wildlife in Montana\u2014especially while recreating outdoors\u2014isn\u2019t unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you’re out recreating, especially in the mountains, there’s a potential to encounter mountain lions while you\u2019re out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
While they\u2019re a far cry from your average house cat, Barbara said other animals worry her more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am definitely more scared of a bear than a mountain lion.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Jacobsen, that instinct checks out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see most close conflict encounters with bears and moose, and even otters, than we do with mountain lions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mountain lions aren\u2019t just being spotted in the backcountry, either.<\/p>\n
Despite what it looks like, I wasn\u2019t in the wilderness during part of my report\u2014I was in the Harvest Creek neighborhood, where a mountain lion was recently caught on camera by a Ring doorbell.<\/p>\n
Multiple neighbors have reported sightings of the big cat roaming around backyards. Whether or not this is the same mountain lion seen at the \u201cM\u201d is unknown, but Jacobsen says movement like this isn\u2019t unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are pretty mobile, it\u2019s not uncommon for them to be passing through. Just like bears that we have in town as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, what should you do if you come face-to-face with a mountain lion?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do encounter a mountain lion, don’t run from it. Mountain lions are predators, so running can trigger a chase instinct,\u201d Jacobsen explained. \u201cMake noise, act big, use bear spray if you’re close enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a moose, a bear, or a mountain lion, encountering wildlife is just part of life in the Treasure State.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are lucky that we get to have encounters with wildlife in a variety of ways,\u201d Jacobsen said. \u201cJust being prepared and taking steps for your own safety goes a long way toward avoiding conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOZEMAN \u2014 Barbara Frangos and her daughter, Maisy, are visiting Montana for the first time. As they made…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[159,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-12575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-unitedstates","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114742104255897400","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}