Man, there’s nothing better than watching a mama cougar in action (come on, get your mind out of the gutter.)
Cougars are some of the most ferocious creatures on the planet. Checking in as the fourth largest wild cat species worldwide, males can reach almost 8 feet long (including tail) while females come in just under 7 feet. Males weight an average of 150 pounds with females around 120, which is pretty freaking big, especially when you take into account the razor sharp claws and fangs.
Cougars have a large range, starting way up north in the Canadian Yukon and ending way down south in the lower Andes mountains in Chile, meaning they’ve evolved to defend themselves against an enormous array of competitors.
Although the mature cougar has no natural predators, bears are known to take advantage of a cougar’s kill by rushing in and scaring the cat off.
But sometimes, when the opportunity presents itself, bears will try to scoop up a cougar cub for a quick snack.
Which is exactly what a black bear tried in this video.
Two cubs were temporarily separated from their mother who may have been looking for something to feed them when the bear decided to make its move.
This was by no means the biggest bear, looking to be an adolescent itself, but I’d be remiss to say if it just acted a bit quicker it may have been able to snatch one of the little guys and get away with a quick bite. But alas, it took its time, and that allowed the mother to sense something amiss and come back to defend her babies.
Right from the start, although there was still a size difference, the cougar showed a clear speed and aggression advantage over the black bear, who was almost stunned that the cat was fighting back. At one point the cougar takes a ferocious swing at the bear’s face and appears to have gotten a claw in its eyes, possibly blinding the bear.
After going back to check on her cubs, the cougar makes a few more advances at the bear, eventually forcing it to run up a tree, where bears are typically safe from an attacker, but once again, the bear’s immaturity come back to bite him. (Literally).
The cougar flew up the tree after him, and unfortunately that’s where this clip cuts off, but man it did not look good for our bear friend.
Would have loved to how this one eventually played out, but I’m going to assume the cat won.
Just goes to show you, never mess with a baby when their mother’s around. You don’t want that smoke.
