Relative size matters. A big guy might do fine against a smaller less experienced animal. But a small woman jogger stands much less of chance against a large male cat. Wolverines have been known to tackle mountain lions and even bears, but they are not soft and mushy like we are.
I'm certain only Tarzan, Lord of Greystoke, Lord of the Apes could accomplish this in this style! He must be still alive and have been outside his normal jungle habitat!!! This pure style of "man against 'savage' beast" is the equivalent of the hardest free soloing!!!
Turns out it was around 35-40 lbs, a little less than I had predicted. Sounds like it was a good thing it was his wrist and not his neck the critter latched onto.
That is very cool article a that highlights the key to survival with large cat or dog is to feed it your weak side arm and never wear earbuds in public or the wild.
The cat was about 10 feet away, said Kauffman, and he threw up his arms and began yelling in an attempt to scare the animal off. ...Kauffman had to run three miles down the trail, bloodied, injured and warily eyeing his surroundings for more mountain lions.
What a fool, he could have just as easily kept going instead of stopping to fight with the cat. The cat was lost in an urban area and defending itself.
Yeah - that guy is roughly my size. If a ~40 lb cat was that difficult, not sure how either of us would do with a full 150 lb cat. I've seen plenty of bears, some just a few yards away, and I didn't mind, but was actually chased down a trail once by an angry grouse - freaked me out.
40 lbs is not a big cat. I've been attacked plenty of times by my 23 lb flame-point siamese who can be a mean SOB (he is a good kitty with a personality disorder). I'm pretty sure most human adults can fend off a 40lb anything (bear, cat, etc). But a 100 or 150 lb cat is going to shred you to pieces and eat your liver.