ShreyaThe Fall And Retreat!!
The cougar was clearly not happy about being tugged at and it made a wild leap which broke the branch on which it was hanging. It totally freaked Mark’s colleague out and he made a run for his life as can be seen in the gif. We cannot really blame him; a wild animal made a ferocious attempt to free itself and attacked- it would have freaked out the best of us. However, Mark stayed put and calm in the situation. He knew if he let go of the catch-pole, recovering it would have been even more difficult to help the mountain lion and keep themselves safe as well.
Offensive Attack!
When the branch broke, the cougar grew even more active and agitated. It started pouncing around and even tried to attack Mike and his crew member as can be seen. They were lucky that the cougar was trapped in one place, otherwise, it would have been a tragic accident for the both of them. The cougar showed no signs of bowing down or even complying with its helpers and Mike’s crew member started having second thoughts about the whole idea of setting the wildcat free. However, Mike was determined to help, even at the cost of his life.
Estimating The Opponent
After it’s attack the cougar settled down, or so it seemed but what it did was set itself away from Mark as much as the trap chain allowed and put all its weight on the opposite direction, all the while assessing Mark cautiously. It appeared that the cougar was carefully planning its next move, next attack and waiting for Mark to make a single mistake. However, when Mark was asked about his calmness in an interview he said, “I guess I respect them enough, and I’ve done it enough, that I kind of know my abilities and their abilities.” They were at a loss at how to proceed without the cougar creating a problem, then they had an idea.
Blindsided
Mark’s crew member secured the hind foot of the cougar now so that it could not move a lot, and it worked. While in this position, Mark threw a blanket over the cougar’s face so that it could not see or place his attack while Mark tried to free him; the cougar resisted that too but Mark’s work was partially done, now all that had to be down was free the cougar’s paw from the trap and run for life. However, that is easier said than done. While Mark made his attempt to free the cougar, it was getting visibly pissed, they had to get out of their quickly. All of this is recorded in the video ahead.
Fight With The Blanket
The cougar created as much problem as it could with its two paws in confinement and being held down by the neck. It created a ruckus and a lot of dust flew around making it difficult for Mark to free it. One can tell from the video that the mountain lion was not happy with being treated this way even when it was for its own good. Gradually, when the till storm died down, Mark tried to attain a position from which he could free the cougar. The rescuers knew that it was pretty angry so they had to make a quick move.
Free And Pissed
The moment Mark freed the paw that was caught in the trap the cougar started fighting again, Mark’s fellow was even more scared now the cougar was free and he ran away from behind it to a more safer location so that he won’t be the first victim of cougar’s rage. Meanwhile, Mark tried to keep the cougar blindfolded so that they had enough time to escape. There was another problem too, Mark needed to get the catch pole off the cougar’s neck but the cougar, as can be seen in the video, did not give him time for that.