Posted on 07/17/2009 7:03:42 PM PDT by Joiseydude
CODY, Wyoming - Wielding his chain saw as a weapon, a former U.S. Marine says he fought off a starving mountain lion that attacked him while he was camping with his wife and two toddlers in northwestern Wyoming.
Dustin Britton, a 32-year-old mechanic and ex-Marine, said he was alone cutting firewood about 100 feet from his campsite in the Shoshone National Forest when he saw the lion staring at him from some bushes.
Britton revved his 18-inch chain saw and tried to back away. But the 100-pound lion followed.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Add Jeremiah Wright to the revised list.
Where the lion got that chainsaw nobody will ever know
Oh, I don’t know...I think a chainsaw is a fairly decent defensive weapon, especially in the hands of a US Marine...:)
*groan*
LOL, I would bet on the man with the chain saw.
“Surprising that the loud sound of a buzzing chain saw did not repel the Cat by itself.”
I have heard a female cougar calling to her offspring when a shooting match was being held within 100 yards. Once predators lose their gunpowder induced fear of man, bad things occur.
The Marine was lucky. Such cats often attack from behind.
Call me a cynic but I sure hope this story stands the test of time.
Found it: The Masai are an extremely traditional, extremely conservative people that put a great premium on martial prowess," he said. "Typically, a young male achieves manhood by killing a warrior from another tribe during a cattle raid. Failing that, he'll kill a lion. That's how he proves himself worthy of taking wives."
I am CERTAINLY impressed by that!
Here kitty, kitty...
Have you ever seen a bull fighter take down a bull with a single thrust of a sword. I have!! At that point the crowd goes crazy!!
I bet Marines don’t run into lions with chain saws very often.
Remember?
That was probably the finest single piece of gear a Marine in the field could possess -- after his weapon.
It will be interesting to see how many old farts in the forum know what we're talking about...
Or the slightly larger P51. ;)
Was the chainsaw for skinning or tenderizing?
Butterflying.
Totally agree. I personally either use Cougar, Puma, or say the entire name 'mountain lion.' I've seen a cougar upclose, and while in Kenya seen a lion upclose, and there is no comparison between the two apart from they both look cat-ish. A cougar cannot even roar, and in terms of damage dealing capacity one can easily be lethal to (say) a jogging woman, while the other can take of any human's head clean off with one good swipe of its paw.
Also, this cougar was weird ...it telegraphed its actions (as in, he SAW it). A prowling cat after you will be a couple of feet away in terminal charge before you even realize something is up. This was probably a confused starving cat that thought it could make an opportunistic meal out of a Marine, which was quite dumb on the cat's side.
Accounts of man-eating lions in Africa, and particularly man-eating leopards in Africa and India, show how a true jungle-cat that wants human chow operates. The humans never know what hit them, and even when they know there is little they can do about it.
With that said, this Marine is amazing. Quick thinking, good improvisation, and a happy ending.
Except for Murtha and deserters. They are ex-Marines. ick!
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