Edit: So what I’m gathering is that they’re not so dangerous that they will strike out of nowhere, and people need to be alert of their surroundings constantly. They almost always get seen if there is going to be an interaction, and the vast majority of the time just walk away. Is this correct?
I was hiking up a mountain alone through the snow, took some photos, went to hike back down.
That’s when I saw fresh mountain lion tracks in the snow maybe 50 feet behind me.
It had stalked me uphill, lurked while I was enjoying the view and then fled, maybe just when I turned around.
Still gives me the creeps to this day.