VIDEO: Mountain Lion Stalks Terrified Hiker Down Trail For Minutes

Humans might be "the most dangerous game," but that doesn't mean that some intrepid predator doesn't every so often consider trying to take one of us down. Maybe it's that some of us look particularly tasty - or that the animal is particularly desperate.  In this case its because the animal is protecting it's cubs.  Whatever the reason, anyone who survives an encounter with a wild animal that gets as close to eviscerating you as the animal in this video does, should count themselves very lucky.

The hiker in this video found that a cougar was stalking him, so he started filming.  

The result is a six and a half minute horror film likely send a chill down the spine of anyone who has ever been on a hike. You might say it's a game of cat and mouse - and the hiker's the mouse. 

There's no doubt that cougars will sometimes take a pass at human prey, but they are generally too cautious. However, like any protective mother, they will not hesitate to attack whatever even thinks about approaching her cubs.  

This Utah man was out for a hike when he saw small animals playing on the trail ahead of him. He got out his camera to film when he found they weren't bobcats (which he should exercise caution around anyway), but mountain lion cubs. Mountain lions are much more dangerous, and soon he was face to face with a real angry mountain lion mother.  

And the man filming does the right thing in the moment, which is to make himself as large and threatening as possible while making a lot of noise. Just in case, the man adds the additional step of cursing as much as possible, in case the cougar is offended by foul language. Thankfully for those of you who are sensitive to profanity, the footage has been edited so that beeps replace curses. It is really almost musical. 

But then, for one terrifying moment, the big cat gets close enough to charge, and does so, but stops short, something like a cougar version of a bear's bluff charge. All the while, the man makes noise and films. Eventually he manages to lose his pursuer, who suddenly tears away in fright after the man picks up a rock and hurls it at her.    

It's enough to raise the hackles of even the most devoted lover of kitties.  

See the whole video below!