‘Good thing I was packin!’ Utah man is stalked by a MOUNTAIN LION during hunting trip to Idaho before shooting at it twice to scare it off

• Jared Erickson, 42, was hunting elk in Idaho when a mountain lion emerged
• The lion moved towards him before finally pouncing from around 20 feet away
• Erickson fired two shots causing the mountain lion to eventually recede

A 42-year-old-man was hunting Elk in Idaho when a mountain lion emerged from the wilderness and began stalking him. 

Jared Erickson – from Paradise, Utah, just south of the Gem state – was lucky to get away with his life after the encounter with the lion in which he was forced to fire his gun twice.

After the second shot he was able to scare off the mountain lion, which then returned into the wilderness disappointed.

A post shared by Jared C Erickson (@jarederickson1980)

Jared Erickson, 42, was hunting Elk in Idaho when a mountain lion emerged from the wilderness and began stalking him 

Erickson pulled out his pistol and phone. With his left hand he filmed the cat as it moved menacingly towards him, one slow stride at a time

Erickson pulled out his pistol and phone upon noticing the big cat. With his left hand he filmed the lion as it moved menacingly towards him, one slow stride at a time. 

In his right hand Erickson holds a Glock pistol pointed at the lion, prepared in case it chose to strike.

During the video Erickson can be heard breathing heavily as he moved backwards with the gun in hand.

‘Get back,’ he can was heard warning the lion firmly. 

The lion begins to increase its pace until once about 20 feet away it lurches forward with both front legs extended. At that very moment the Erickson fires a singlehanded shot with the gun in his right hand.

Its unclear whether it was a warning shot or Erickson was aiming for the cat, but it dashes a few meters before turning back to face Erickson once more.

The moment Erickson fired his pistol, causing a cloud of dust to form where the bullet struck the ground

Erickson then fires a second shot causing the lion to walk away dejectedly and seemingly unfazed by its near-miss encounter with death

Erickson then fires a second shot causing the lion to walk away dejectedly and seemingly unfazed by its near-miss encounter with death.

Erickson uploaded the video, filmed with his left hand, of the encounter to Instagram where it has accrued 25,000 likes in just two days.

He posted it with the caption: ‘Not what I expected going elk hunting. Good think I was packin!’

People commented on the video expressing how lucky he was to have had the gun and to have survived.

Mountain lions can be found throughout Idaho. Game agencies have estimated that across the approximately 300,000 square miles of forest in the western states there are between 20,000 and 40,000 mountain lions.

Mountain lion attacks are rare and unlikely to be fatal. There are 27 fatal mountain lion attacks on record in North America.

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