# Hiking wife beats mountain lion off of her husband with pen and a branch **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 26, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551 "2007-01-26T14:24:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/1 "2007-01-26T14:24:15Z")
Interestingly enough, the latest chapter of human vs predator hails from my homeland of Humboldt County California: [http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci\_5092656](http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5092656) > [@](#): > > Two mountain lions were shot dead by wildlife agents after a Fortuna man was attacked Wednesday afternoon in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. > > Jim Hamm, 70, and his wife Nell, 65, were on Brown Creek Trail at about 3 p.m. when a lion ambushed Jim from behind. Nell Hamm used a branch and a pen to beat and stab the animal, which eventually released its grip on her husband and ran away. > > Jim Hamm suffered serious lacerations to his head and body, but was listed in fair condition after surgery at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata. I’ve spent many hours at Prairie Creek State Park. It is a beautiful place and a great park. In all of the years that I lived in Humboldt, I’ve only seen one big cat in the wild, running across a rural county road and up the hillside. Even at that distance it was a breathtaking creature. I’ve come across one fresh track in some riverbar mud while backpacking on The Lost Coast, but never saw the cat. With a small group of students from my Advanced Mammalogy class I was given the amazing opportunity to necropsy/dissect 5 adult cats that had been taken with depredation permits. They had previously occupied a Dept. of Fish and Game freezer that had malfunctioned. So instead of letting the bodies thaw and rot, they handed them over to my university. I will never forget that experience, and I learned an amazing amount about these beautiful creatures. If you make a fist with both hands, and hold them 2-3 inches appart, palm to palm, your fists give you an approximate view of the size and shape of the temporalis muscles on the skull of an adult cat if you were staring at it face to face. Absolutely massive muscles that function to slam the jaws shut. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/2 "2007-01-26T14:33:15Z")
Great, so now I have to carry an anti-lion pen as well as an anti-shark chisel. I’m gonna need a bigger backpack. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/3 "2007-01-26T14:38:25Z")
So the pen isn’t just Mightier Than the Sword, it’s also Mightier Than th Puma, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/4 "2007-01-26T14:42:01Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Great, so now I have to carry an anti-lion pen as well as an anti-shark chisel. I’m gonna need a bigger backpack. [/QUOTE] **007:** “Q…you’re Joking..!” **Q:** “007, I Never joke about my work.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/5 "2007-01-26T14:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] So the pen isn’t just Mightier Than the Sword, it’s also Mightier Than th Puma, eh? [/QUOTE] Heh! I never owned a gun until living out west, it wasn’t for home defense, it was for my defense against animals who may find myself or my wife tastey. In the end my wife wanted me to give up the gun on hiking trips for a more humane bear spray…Still I had my doubts about the efficacy of the spray, and put the 38 in my backpack… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/6 "2007-01-26T14:43:25Z")
Funny. If it were me and the spouse, the headline would read something like “Wife stashes raw meat in husband’s backpack.” ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/7 "2007-01-26T14:47:04Z")
**ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies** , whereabouts in Humboldt Cty did you live? My dad was raised in Rohnerville (when there was a Rohnerville, it’s now incorporated into Fortuna). In fact, Dad’s the same age as Mr. Hamm – I’ll have to ask him if the name rings a bell. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/8 "2007-01-26T14:49:46Z")
Actually, from what I read, the pen wasn’t that effective. She kept trying to put out the cougar’s eye, and instead the pen (a Bic, I’m guessing) bent until it was useless. If you’re going to carry an anti-cougar pen, make sure it’s made of steel, or at least a space-age polymer. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/9 "2007-01-26T14:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Great, so now I have to carry an anti-lion pen as well as an anti-shark chisel. I’m gonna need a bigger backpack. [/QUOTE] Surely you don’t need both _at once_. Just decide in the morning if you’re going to explore lion country, or swim in shark infested waters. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/10 "2007-01-26T14:53:23Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] So the pen isn’t just Mightier Than the Sword, it’s also Mightier Than the Puma, eh? [/QUOTE] The pen isn’t always mightier than the sword, not even as a metaphor. If this woman had sat down and written a witheringly ironic précis criticising the predatory attitudes of mountain lions, and then read it out loud to this animal in particular, it’s doubtful she would have beaten off the attack with any degree of success. Presumably her other weapon wasn’t an olive branch. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/11 "2007-01-26T14:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Funny. If it were me and the spouse, the headline would read something like “Wife stashes raw meat in husband’s backpack.” [/QUOTE] 😃 Thanks, I needed that. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/12 "2007-01-26T15:01:21Z")
Is pepper spray effective on cougar?? My first impression is, they wouldn’t like it one bit. But I’m not willing to do a real life test, uh. Fighting ignorance is one thing! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/13 "2007-01-26T15:05:29Z")
[QUOTE=Common Tater] Is pepper spray effective on cougar?? My first impression is, they wouldn’t like it one bit. But I’m not willing to do a real life test, uh. Fighting ignorance is one thing! [/QUOTE] I’m just imagining the lion telling all it’s friends - “Wow, those things are self condimenting!” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/14 "2007-01-26T15:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] Surely you don’t need both _at once_. Just decide in the morning if you’re going to explore lion country, or swim in shark infested waters. [/QUOTE] Hah. No way that would ever work and I don’t want to end up as just another line in a song by Alanis Morissette. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/15 "2007-01-26T15:19:37Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] Surely you don’t need both _at once_. Just decide in the morning if you’re going to explore lion country, or swim in shark infested waters. [/QUOTE] Okay - we have two events for the “Danger Triathalon” What should the third be? Susan ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/16 "2007-01-26T15:23:57Z")
[QUOTE=susan\_foster] Okay - we have two events for the “Danger Triathalon” What should the third be? Susan [/QUOTE] Until I see the words ‘…trifecta now in play’ on Fark, I couldn’t possibly comment. No, wait, how about drinking chardonnay without swallowing a black fly? ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/17 "2007-01-26T15:23:58Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Hah. No way that would ever work and I don’t want to end up as just another line in a song by Alanis Morissette. [/QUOTE] "It’s a shark chisel, when all you need is a lion pen… ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/18 "2007-01-26T16:00:42Z")
[Outside magazine](http://outside.away.com/outside/gear/gearguy/200402/20040205.html) seems to think that pepper spray would work, but their article also highlights how rare it is to have a documented attack on someone who wasn’t alone. I’ll have to read some of the articles again to see how far behind Mr. Hamm was, but he was extremely lucky that his wife was with him that day. Another thing I’ve been thinking about…the blow that finally made the cat let go was a blow to the face/head of the cat. Presumably, while Mr. Hamm’s head/neck area was in the cat’s mouth. It seems like a risky technique, although it worked in this case. I would worry about causing the animal to bite down harder or have the force of the blow push a sharp tooth closer to the spine or an artery. Using pepper spray seems like a safer bet, if she had been carrying any, which she wasn’t. [QUOTE=Jess] **ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies** , whereabouts in Humboldt Cty did you live? My dad was raised in Rohnerville (when there was a Rohnerville, it’s now incorporated into Fortuna). In fact, Dad’s the same age as Mr. Hamm – I’ll have to ask him if the name rings a bell. [/QUOTE] My mom, brother, and sister-in-law live out in Honeydew and Petrolia, which is where I grew up. I went to high school in Ferndale, and lived there and in Fortuna while attending College of the Redwoods. For my time at Humboldt State I lived in Arcata. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/19 "2007-01-26T16:03:43Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] Another thing I’ve been thinking about…the blow that finally made the cat let go was a blow to the face/head of the cat. Presumably, while Mr. Hamm’s head/neck area was in the cat’s mouth. It seems like a risky technique, although it worked in this case. I would worry about causing the animal to bite down harder or have the force of the blow push a sharp tooth closer to the spine or an artery. [/QUOTE] Dunno - in that extreme a predicament, probably _anything you do, as fast as you can_ stands a better chance of working than doing nothing at all while you cook up a plan. ---
**Author:** ![Dishfunctional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/35a633/32.png) [@Dishfunctional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dishfunctional)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551/20 "2007-01-26T16:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] Surely you don’t need both _at once_. Just decide in the morning if you’re going to explore lion country, or swim in shark infested waters. [/QUOTE] Land shark? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-wife-beats-mountain-lion-off-of-her-husband-with-pen-and-a-branch/389551.md?page=2)