# How you do you deal with a lion in the wilds of Southern Indiana? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2002, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276 "2002-04-12T18:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/21 "2002-04-13T07:07:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ftg \* > **In India, where _tigers_ are a problem, the people that work in the forests wear masks on the _back_ of their heads. The tigers like to sneak up on you when you are not looking, so this makes an attack from the rear less likely.** Of course, then you run the risk of pissing off Hobbes, and he’ll kick your butt the next time you play Calvinball… seriously… this was in Calvin and Hobbes. ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/22 "2002-04-13T07:25:40Z")
Actually, your best bet is probably just to carry extra-strength pepper spray. [It works on bears](http://biology.usgs.gov/pr/newsrelease/1998/2-9.html) so it should work on big cats. To be effective, it must be sprayed directly in the animal’s face. It isn’t “bear repellant.” In fact, because of a previously undocumented predilection among brown bears for Indian food, it may actually be an attractant! I don’t know of any research in this area specifically dealing with lions, but you can’t be too careful. ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/23 "2002-04-13T07:33:15Z")
Places on the web sell Bear Spray, which is super strong pepper spray. I suppose it would work on lions, you can always ask your neighbor if you can test it out, after all, he does have a lion. It shoots about 10 to 15 feet. Anything you hit with it will not bother you. Except 10% of the human population not affected. Another option is a stun gun. If the lion gets out, you will probably find it already upon you before you can do anything in the way of readying a gun. But a stun weapon in hand while out jogging is probably quite manageable. ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/24 "2002-04-13T08:10:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DPWhite \* > \*\*Except 10% of the human population not affected. \*\* Hmm. I’ve never heard this about pepper spray before. I did a bit of quick research and turned up this, > [@](#): > > \*\*Cambridge, Mass., police have drawn scrutiny lately for a different kind of racial profiling–the assertion that Mexican Americans, Cajuns, and other people who eat spicy foods are impervious to the effects of pepper spray. Cambridge police are told by Officer Frank Gutoski in training that people who have consumed cayenne pepper from an early age–generally minority members–are not affected by pepper spray, a mixture of cayenne pepper and natural oils sprayed from a pressurized bottle. Gutoski reportedly told a weekly newspaper that he received the information from the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council, which trains police officers from departments across the state. Yet, the Training Council denied that such information is in the curriculum. Furthermore, Dr. Michael Burns, a toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said the claim was spurious and unscientific. \*\* This doesn’t sound very reliable. Anyone have a better source? ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/25 "2002-04-13T10:39:35Z")
Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I suspect I would be able to hover to safety, jet-propelled on a steady, forceful stream of my own feces. b. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/26 "2002-04-13T16:56:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tamerlane \* > \*\*Actually if we are talking about an African Lion, they eat plenty of carrion, so I’m not sure playing dead is a good option. \*\* I hear what you’re saying and I thought of that. However, when a lion has just pounced on you I’m not sure what options you have left. There is certainly no way in hell you’re going to be able to inflict anywhere near enough damage on the lion to discourage it. I’ve seen nature shows where zebra have full on kicked an attacking lion and it barely slowed the lion down. In short, if it wants to eat you, you’re outta luck at this point. However, a previously captive animal might be (somewhat) tame and that’s the kind of lion we’re talking about here. I saw another show with someguy who had a pride of lions on his property. The lions were ‘tame’ and would come out and play with him as he walked around his property (he had a LOT of property). He said that he had to be careful when the lions would wrestle with him. If he wrestled too hard the lion would continue to notch up its efforts so it could win. A 500 pound lion has a lot more notches to go up in a fight and even without actually meaning to the lion would hurt the owner if the owner fought too hard. Given all of that if I met this Indiana lion and it pounced on me I think I’d opt for the play dead routine and hope it lost interest. I imagine that the play dead routine wouldn’t even be too difficult as I’d likely pass-out from fear anyway (possums don’t actually ‘play’ dead either…they pass out). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276/27 "2002-04-13T22:43:58Z")
I can’t believe I forgot this one. You know how mail carriers carry dog treats to appease the biters? So, go down to PetMegaMart and ask for kitty treats, “Jumbo Size”. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-you-do-you-deal-with-a-lion-in-the-wilds-of-southern-indiana/103276.md?page=1)