British Columbia Campers Startled By Enormous Mountain Lion Scoping Them Out In The Dark

British Columbia, Canada is home to the highest concentration of mountain lions (pumas, cougars, etc) in North America and campers throughout the region are advised to be vigilant and exercise caution when out in the wild. But these giant cats are masters of stealth so it is often impossible to know if they are watching you.

One group of campers at Harrison Lake in British Columbia, not too far north over the border from the States, were stunned to see an absolutely massive mountain lion lurking in the woods leering at them in the dark with an ominous watchful eye.

British Columbia Campers Stunned By Enormous Mountain Lion

Cougars are ambush predators. This means they use stealth to stalk and hunt down prey (deer, elk, rabbits, etc) and go in for the kill without being seen.

What does this mean for these campers who shined a light in the woods and saw a massive mountain lion staring back at them? Well, woodsmen say that if you can spot the cat then it likely means they aren’t after you. Is this 100% true? Absolutely not, but it has probably provided comfort to hikers and campers throughout the years who have found themselves eerily close to pumas.

In two videos, user @caliopeeloise on TikTok documented their close encounter with the abnormally large mountain lion lurking just on the edge of their campsite as they cooked in the dark underneath a tarpaulin. The first video has raked up over a million views in the first 24 hours since it was shared:

A second clip shows the curious large cat sniffing around. It is impossible to know for certain why the mountain lion is there but most likely it is the aroma of food wafting through the air which drew in its attention.

Commenters had a field day with these clips. Many made ‘cat distribution system’ jokes but my favorite comment from someone with the handle ‘lobster’ simply asked ‘so… what’s the next step in this situation?’ which is exactly where my mind went.

Do you keep flashlights on the mountain lion until it vacates the premises? Presumably so.

Once it leaves, do you assume it is gone for good and go about your business or do you pack up and head to the car? I’m not so sure, I think it would entirely depend on the distance of the hike in and out.

Are you safe inside of your tent where the watchful eyes of the pump know you are in there and is able to smell you? I’d think so. You never hear tales of mountain lions attacking through tents.

With that in mind, a woman in Colorado was killed on New Year’s Day by a cougar. It was the first deadly mountain lion attack in Colorado since 1999. You will never regret exercising an abundance of caution when your life is on the line.