Harrowing video shows man stalked by cougar for nearly six minutes

A dramatic video has gone viral on social media this week, which shows a man being stalked by a cougar for nearly six minutes.

According to USA Today, the footage was filmed by a hiker named Kyle Burgess, who was trekking through the Slate Canyon Trail in Utah on Saturday, October 10, when he stumbled upon a litter of what he thought were bobcat cubs.

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However, he had the shock of his life when he turned around and saw an irate mother cougar approaching him aggressively. Whipping out his smartphone, Kyle filmed the animal stalking him for nearly six minutes along the trail.

Although the big cat eventually backed away, Kyle waited 30 minutes before heading back down the trail armed with a stick and a rock, just in case the cougar made another attempt on his life. Luckily for all concerned, the animal had retreated.

Take a look at the chilling footage of the encounter in the wild in the video below: 

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In a later interview with USA Today, Kyle commented on his brush with the animal by stating:

"I've never had this type of encounter before. Growing up here in Utah, I've always been around the mountains and kind of always been taught when you come encounter with these big animals, you got to make yourself look bigger."

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Taking to his Instagram account later, Kyle uploaded a picture of himself hiking again, which he captioned:

"Hey, cougar guy here! Can I just say that this experience has been so surreal... Thanks for all the love and support! I really appreciate it! I wanted to introduce myself a little more."

He also told his 20,000 followers that:

"I live in Utah and I love nature! Growing up I was always the quiet alternative sport kid, who loved swimming, rock climbing, and longboarding."

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He added:

"I have been married for a little over 3 years to my beautiful wife, Whitney, who happens to be older than me so I guess I naturally do attract cougars. Again, thanks for the love! It's been an insane experience. [sic]"

The US branch of the Humane Society states that anyone who does encounter a cougar in the wild should not run, as this can provoke them.

Instead, the Human Society advises that you should face the animal directly, make loud noises, and appear to be as large as you can manage to look. You're also advised not to look the creature in the eye, and instead stare at its legs.