Man feared he'd never see his family again after nail-biting five-minute encounter with cougar

A man has shared a terrifying wildlife encounter he had with a cougar while out hiking.

According to Fox News 13, Jared Brett Smith, who hails from Salt Lake City, inadvertently got up close and personal with a big cat while hiking in the mountains of Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah on Thursday, May 13.

Writing on Facebook following his encounter, Smith said: "I was hiking Broads Fork Trail up BCC yesterday and out of nowhere a cougar came out of the brush and followed me for about 5 minutes.

"I got 2 minutes on video. I was truly rattled from the experience. I’m just grateful to be safe. Utah DWR has been contacted. Be aware of your surroundings out there and be safe."

While walking the Broads Fork Trail, Jared claims that the mountain lion suddenly appeared from out of the foliage and followed him at a distance of within 20-30 feet.

Despite his fear that the animal might attack at any moment, Jared managed to keep calm: backing away while making himself look as big as possible in an attempt to intimidate the cat.

Thankfully, Smith's tactic paid off, and the cougar lost interest in him and left the trail after about five minutes.

Discussing the incident in a later interview with Fox, Smith stated: "Periodically the cougar would pounce and was baring its teeth and kick its legs and its tail up, almost like a little sprint right at me."

He added: "Honestly, for me, the thing that’s most important to me is my family and I have a wife and a child and thinking I need to make sure I make it home from this.

"I know cougar attacks are very uncommon but I believe in this situation she was probably protecting her cubs so I know they’ll do just about anything to keep their cubs safe."

But this isn't the first time that a hiker has seen one of these animals at close range. Back in 2020, a dramatic video showing another hillwalker's encounter with a cougar also picked up a lot of attention on social media.

Fellow Utah native Kyle Burgess was trekking through the Slate Canyon Trail on Saturday, October 10, when he stumbled upon a litter of what he thought were bobcat cubs.

He then turned around and saw an irate mother cougar approaching him aggressively. Whipping out his smartphone, Burgess filmed the animal stalking him for nearly six minutes along the trail.

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

In a later interview with USA Today, Burgess commented on the incident 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."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Anita Erdmann