Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
302 Lions and Children and Bears...BACKPACKING!!!
A recent fatal mountain lion attack in Colorado has led to multiple mountain lions being euthanized in the surrounding area. As hikers, backpackers, and outdoor enthusiasts, this raises some uncomfortable but important questions.
Were these mountain lions truly a continued threat—or were they simply animals acting on instinct? How do wildlife agencies decide when lethal action is necessary? And where do human responsibility, trail use, and changing landscapes factor into these tragic encounters?
In this episode, we talk through what happened, why the decision was made to kill multiple mountain lions, and whether this kind of response actually makes people safer in the long run. We also discuss how rare these incidents are, what hikers should realistically worry about, and how we can coexist more responsibly with large predators in wild places.
This isn’t about outrage—it’s about understanding the complexity of human–wildlife conflict and asking hard questions that don’t always have easy answers.
302 Lions and Children and Bears...BACKPACKING!!!
A recent fatal mountain lion attack in Colorado has led to multiple mountain lions being euthanized in the surrounding area. As hikers, backpackers, and outdoor enthusiasts, this raises some uncomfortable but important questions.
Were these mountain lions truly a continued threat—or were they simply animals acting on instinct? How do wildlife agencies decide when lethal action is necessary? And where do human responsibility, trail use, and changing landscapes factor into these tragic encounters?
In this episode, we talk through what happened, why the decision was made to kill multiple mountain lions, and whether this kind of response actually makes people safer in the long run. We also discuss how rare these incidents are, what hikers should realistically worry about, and how we can coexist more responsibly with large predators in wild places.
This isn’t about outrage—it’s about understanding the complexity of human–wildlife conflict and asking hard questions that don’t always have easy answers.
