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DON'T RUN if you happen to come across a cougar in the woods. Simply causing it to feel the impulse to pursue fleeing prey will make it run considerably faster than you. Instead, create as much noise as you can and try to appear as large as possible. Take a bag, jacket or whatever you can and use it to make yourself look larger by holding it above yourself.
If you have a weapon around, threaten it with that. Remember to not break eye contact or bend over. Don't appear smaller than the cougar.
Don't turn your back on the animal. Ever.
They are the only large cat species rated by the IUCN as being of "Least Concern," making them the least endangered of all big cats. Although their population is believed to be declining overall, their species has still suffered greatly from human activity. In particular, they have been wiped out from the majority of eastern North America and southern South America. The largest threat they face from us is direct shooting to defend people, animals, and livestock.