Exactly my thoughts, I live and hunt in Montana, have 3 young boys I'm teaching to hunt among the growing numbers of grizzlies, this breaks my heart. If this ever happened to one of mine, I don't think I could ever have the courage to go on camera and talk about it. This father has true strength to be able to talk about this and educate, not only other hunters, but the general public on the importance of smart conservation laws in regards to large predators. God bless him and his family.
God bless Y’all. Wyatt, please don’t burden your life with “did I do enough for my brother?” You’re clearly a fighter, just live your best life and when you meet your brother in heaven, he’ll great you with a smile.
Let’s all pray for this beautiful family. As the young man was telling his story I can see the dad keeping his eyes and face hidden as he hears the horrific story again about his son dying and his other son almost dying. I almost died once. When I retell that story in front of my dad he dries. Stay strong guys. God is with you. Praying for you.
I have to say with all respect it took a lot of bravery to talk about this. I honestly couldn’t finish this one. It’s to hard to think of the actual event but not just that what a difference ANY kind of weapon would of made. Prayers to this boy and his family.
That poor dad. He told them about that spot if I'm understanding it correctly? The gut wrenching sorrow, guilt and anguish permeates the room. As a father and grandpa, the heart hurts for the dad. With only one brother, can not fathom the complexities of the emotional terrain this kid will have to navigate. It is incomprehensible. Crew did a great service on an impossible, highly improbable, tragic, surreal situation. The uncle was a great mediator, with a depth of knowledge and ability to communicate when it is way past the father and son dealing with something so far past reality for any of us. Kid did a d@m good job holding it together. No chance I could've done that. Cal is like an uncle we all wish we had. D@mnation that was a rough one to watch, but worth it. Thoughts and prayers!
Great Episode, I live in EDC about 5 miles from this family. This was a huge sadness to the whole community. This family is well known and liked in the county..I hope people listen to this episode and realize what a problem large predators are becoming in this area. You are 100% correct about the bears taking lion kills I see it all the time. Bears in this area have become a huge problem as well. Not only a problem but in the last 6-8 yrs. Bears and cats are losing there fear of humans. When dogs were allowed in the take of bears. A dog could bark and a bear would run and not stop. These days on a weekly basis bears come on my property if my dogs are locked up the bears do what they want. I frequently will come out with a spotlight shining it in their eyes and yelling most of the time there not even fazed they might walk off to the nearest brush and Hideout till I'm back in the house. If I do Let Dogs Out it has to be at least three the Bears will usually try to fight one dog sometimes two over a food source. These days I see several Bears a month when it's warm. When we were allowed the use of dogs to take bears I would never see any bears unless it was hunting season and they were up a tree. I think it's very hard to get accurate numbers out of biologist. Where this tragedy took place they started a Facebook page. Eldorado county Mountain lion sightings. This page gives accurate detailed information on just how many Lions we have and how much livestock are being taken by lions and bears. The Lions are getting to be just as common as the Bears. Like the Bears the Lions have lost Their Fear of humans and dogs. Years ago I was told there was one lion per 5 square miles. If I had to guess now it would probably be around 4 maybe more up until a few years ago I would see one every couple of years. Now I see them pretty frequently. The scary part is I see three or four adult cats together. I believe it's because of the Bears. they lose so much of their kills to bears they are hunting in Prides like African lions. I believe our County had more people during the gold rush then it does now. So I don't believe it's human population increase. Living in the populated cities people find it hard to comprehend. It's different than seeing it every day and it effecting kids, pets, livestock, and the way you would normally do things. I hope people realize that just because it's not happening in there city doesn't mean it's not happening. This will be one of more tragedies to come if something's not done soon.
Had a juvenile cat sneak up on me in Idaho. I was working and camping in the LoLo area and just happened to look to my right and 10’ away the 90-100lb cat was crouched. I jumped at it and it took off. Makes me rethink that encounter. I am not small so I wonder if I was if it would have gone down different or if I had my back to the creek instead of angled….
Prayers and thoughts to this family man. I’m from New Zealand and this hurts I have a brother and couldn’t bare to loose him especially in a way such as this. What a warrior you are Wyatt head should be held high mate not much men in the world can go through that and have the heart to tell the story afterwards
Wow! I can't imagine the srength it takes to rehash an experience like that in front of an audience, and to maintain your composure throughout the retelling. What a strong young man. What an awesome family. I'm sorry for your loss, but sharing this will hopefully help prevent any future incidents.
Im local to the area where the attack occurred. It infuriated me when it happened because the mountain lion population up here is leading to nightly livestock killings and the cries for state agencies to change legislation has fell on deaf ears.
As a hunter in the extremely Left Wing PNW, this story saddens and infuriates me at the same time. If the legislators making these laws would spend some time out in the field, and possibly have an encounter with a predator, I bet it would scare them enough to rethink their position on predator control. This is the reason why I ALWAYS carry a sidearm whether I'm archery or rifle hunting. I feel so sad for the family. The father looks lost, and I can't imagine how a parent goes on day to day after losing a child. Hopefully we don't need to lose anymore people due to uneducated bureaucrat's stupid anti-hunting agenda.
We've had a rash of attacks in WA state in recent years... yet they don't let you hunt the gmu's where you'd be most likely to shoot Cougars. In and around Tri Cities has alot of big cats
The state of California killed that boy. I simply cannot fathom losing my brother in that way. Wish nothing but great things for that young man. God Bless Texas for caring more about doing whats right than hurting the loud minority’s feelings / gaining votes.
What a mature honest beautiful family. I respect the whole approach to this personal yet complex issue. I had a friend that realized a lion was 10 yds away, flattened and crouched in the weeds. He was elk hunting, with rifle at ready. The lion sprang and he shot it while in the air. This was on middle Salmon River Idaho.
Thanks for this Podcast! Great job to all on this show! Unbelievable! These big predators that are being populated around the states were that way for a reason. People didn't want them near their family or livestock. Now Scientists think they are only there to keep these animals in check, but it's much more than that. Sad.
Man, could you imagine? In my calm and cool thoughts from my office, I tell myself that I would have booted that lion on its head if it was on top of my brother but I wasn't there in his shoes. But man, what a heart breaking story. I bet he re-lives the situation in his mind and thinking about different scenarios and things he could have done to save him. At least I know I would, and it would probably haunt my thoughts to my grave. I hope not and I hope he finds peace. He seems like a great kid.
Yeah I know what you mean. But it’s easy to say you would punch or kick a mountain lion, but most likely that wouldn’t do anything. Punch a 100lb dog and see how useless your punch is. Maybe a kick to the nose might do something but even then, our fists and legs are pretty useless in defense, especially against a full grown mountain lion, just a ball of muscle, prob break your fist on his body and just piss it off. I hope this kid doesn’t hold himself accountable for what happened.
I live in rural Placer County near El Dorado County in Northern California. This story is so tragic. Mountain lions are no longer afraid of humans and their populations have exponentially increased I. The last few years. All of my neighbors have lost livestock to mountain lions and lots of Ring cameras with mountain lion pics. The County trappers say their hands are tied. People are self protecting themselves and their livestock any way they can bcz they know the government will do nothing. The mountain lion killing of this boy should have never happened.
Man this is sad to hear I feel terrible for the family. I live in nor cal there’s definitely a problem with cats I tend to worry more about bears as I’ve had multiple run in’s. I’ll be thinking about this story next time I’m out hunting.
Thank you for getting this information out there. Sucks to see such a young man lose his life for nothing. I grew up running bobcats and gray squirrels with hounds. Now it’s just squirrel and fox for me. I’ve called in 3 lions while turkey hunting Northern California. I guide bear hunts up here as well and we’re constantly getting lions on our trail cams. Both the bear and lion populations are out of control.
Last year when I went out turkey hunting by myself all I could think about was calling in a lion. I was so scared 😂😂😂 didn’t hunt very long on that solo trip
I live in California. Started hunting 2 years ago. Every where I go I find lion tracks and scat but never physically see them. I’m always on alert when in the field. And I always carry a big ass knife when archery hunting because California won’t let you carry a side arm during archery hunting deer but if you don’t have a deer tag on you and only a bear tag(while archery hunting) you CAN have a side arm. Make no sense at all.
@@georgelewis9729 yea I hear what you are saying. I’m getting to that point where I rather be caught with it than with out it. But technically you can have a deer tag on you at all if you want to carry a side arm while archery hunting that is until general season starts. It’s for archery season.
Can't imagine how hard it must be for the family to come on and keep composure as they did. And horrible to witness it for the youngest. My own experiences in El Dorado, Placer and Sierra Counties when I was going off deep in the woods way off the beaten path and even near where this happened, is that most don't realize just how remote and wild that part of the world is. When I mountain biked and did trail work and maintanence I never carried (call it maybe a bit of naivety) after I started predator hunting I would not set foot into those woods or the outdoors without a sidearm or a good knife.
First of all wow, what a story, I am so sorry for this horrible tragedy. I have had my own personal experience with being an inch away from certain life or death. It effects you in ways you can't imagine.
I really hope this young man finds a way to grieve for his brother and process this whole ordeal. I can’t imagine what this would be like to go through…
As someone who lived in socal, I think they could care less about rural individuals and ranchers as they feel intellectually better and more intitetled. It is honestly, "if it doesn't affect me I don't care how it impacts you"
when will these liberal states wake up and realize that human lives are more valuable than animals? we as hunters and outdoorsman need to stop being so timid and polite to the fringe of liberals. its time for all of us to tell it like it is. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. it is completely un natural for animals to not have a fear of humans, and this family has suffered the consequence of just that. i am beyond disgusted, i truly hope that this story could some day be the catalyst to effect a change back to common sense.
I am a cougar attack survivor. 1996 in the Olympic National Park. I would love to share my story. Privately. I owe you. Becase if you i got a Roosevelt elk my first day of my first hunt. I was able to process the animal fully based on your videos.
Fucking hell. I lost my brother a few years back and that was hard, i cant even imagine seeing it happen in such a horrific manner. I hope these guys are doing alright. What a nightmare.
Here in rural Packwood, WA the cats numbers have increased. It's caused a lot of problems with folks here in the valley that raise livestock. If you've never seen what these beautiful death machines can do you'd be shocked. We have seen them during the day too many times. Its not good.
Damn that was a terrible story. When I think back to myself at that age being in the boyscouts and camping I would have had no answer for a lion in the woods. Glad I'm able to carry a gun with me now.
Fuck man, what a grueling story. As a 24 year old kid with a younger brother who’s my best friend and having a deployment as a grunt. I can’t imagine leaving my brother with a cat on his neck. I don’t knock the kid at all but just so sad to think about. He’s gonna always carry that guilt.
That’s my thoughts exactly. My brother and I spend a lot of time picking up horns and hunting. I think I would rather try everything I could and possibly die then just leave my brother there
You don’t know what you would do or how you would react. Especially after a substantial amount of blood loss and confusion. Sometimes it’s best to not say really anything at all when a family has opened themselves up. Probabaly not something he needs to hear or read.
@@jonahmosher3314 I think I know exactly what’d I do bro. Considering I’ve seen real world casualties and I’ve experienced a couple gunfights myself. I’m not knocking the kid at all, everyone is different and I had a lot of training in stress induced environments before all of that. But to be a big brother and my brother being my best friend I couldn’t ever imagine leaving him like that.
This kid is so strong, after trying to intimidate the lion, hitting it with a bag, slamming it to the ground and choking it, it is so wild that the cat then went after his brother.
Was working out in the Oregon coast range a few weeks ago and a hunter had gotten a photo of one right next to a FS gate. We found scat signs and ran into something out in one of the meadows we were weed whacking. Tree shook, got a growl, co worker and I backed out and just left for the day. Boss thinks it was a black bear but I just felt like we'd have seen a bear. Think we ended up disturbing a napping lion and it just gave us a " back off " growl.
I think the only way to make governments wake up to predator control is for the families to start suing them after incidents like these. That will bring the incident more exposure and keep it in the news cycle longer. It's to the point where the New Jersey cat ladies and the the heads of some of the state and federal agencies managing wildlife value the animal's life more than the citizens. My cousin's coworker was hiking in Yellowstone. He was carrying a sidearm. Shortly before his trip a person was killed not far from where his hike took place one morning. A ways into his hike he bumped into a grizzly with cubs that kept advancing on him and appeared it was getting ready to charge. At one point he fired off a warning shot which made the bear run away. He notified park staff so they could close down the trail for the day and the park staff gave him a 4 figure fine and confiscated his handgun because it's illegal to discharge a firearm in Yellowstone National Park.
23:35 I have to comment on the cat population of Cali. From what I’ve seen, and have studied and been informed by the dept of fish and wildlife biologists here. There is a big problem on the horizon. My understanding is that since dogs have been outlawed for bear hunting. A lot of people are not targeting/ hunting bears anymore. They get tags just be legal if they have to take a bear. But it’s not usually the primary in most circumstances. Yes, there still are some bear hunters and guide services. On average, the cats take about a deer a week now that can be 7-10-14 days depending on some variables. Packs, singles etc. But the cats don’t finish their meal, so they bury the carcass. Now the bears have a better nose than the cats and they will dig up the carcass and splurge especially in the fall and spring. They’ll eat everything and sometimes the bears eat so much they vomit. I’ve seen it. Well now the cats go to feed and their kill has been dug up spoiled and ravished by the trash pandas. So now, the cats have to kill double to triple the amount of deer. No one is hunting the cats. Very little people are hunting the bear, and everyone is still hunting the deer. The cat population is exploding and the bear population is exploding. The deer population is in massive decline and they are being pressured from everyone. Including the wildfires/habitat, droughts, diseases etc. It’s nuts.
Dont go looking for this story on RUclips... There are some pretty sick comments in other videos of this and I am sure they will find their way here eventually.
CDFW needs to come around to the realization that we need scientific based management strategies ie hunting brought back for mountain lions in this state, the population is growing and attacks are clearly increasing. Rip Taylen
Unit 3 north idaho a big healthy male approached me while parked at a saddle at my truck when getting ready to hike for mushrooms. I had a rifle because bear season was open. He walked out in the saddle and at first I was just amazed to see one and taken back by how muscular it was . It stopped broad side at 10 yards or soand looked at me like do we have a problem here. that was the moment It clicked I had a sportsman's pack in my pocket which includes a lion tag , don't know if he had intentions to come closer or not but the second it clicked in my head that was a legal game animal I shouldered my rifle and shot it behind the shoulder it jumped and flipped and spun off into some thick brush and died. had it checked at fish and game and took it to the taxidermist it was 8 foot 3 inches long from tip to tail. This was in a popular place for casual folks to hike and camp and bike . I had just pulled up in a diesel and had just gotten out he had to have heard and seen me pull up. There was no fear in that cat and we can hunt the shit out of them a tag in every sportsman's pack. It really surprised me because I'm an avid outdoors man that hikes deep and steep my whole life and had only ever seen 1 cat and that was at dusk one slinked thru the tall grass of a power line 25 years ago.
Tragic story, whats happened to the California lion population is going to happen to Colorado if Proposition 127 is passed which bans the hunting of all big cats
Sorry for your loss and wish you the best for healing. But California is like Florida far to populated by people. The loss of wilderness is insane and the animals that can adapt to live in less wild areas and more people controlled areas are doing so. It's not their fault it's people and way the hell to many people. Live with them, go out in pairs carry spray, just be smart about it. Yes there needs to be hunting to manage the numbers but I'm afraid that people are going to push too far. If an animal takes a person there's a reason for it most times. And we shouldn't hunt them down for revenge unless they make a habit of it, 3 strikes sort of thing. And the fools in national parks they are super stupid give them a Darwin award and leave the animals be. I've had 2 mt lion in Wisconsin was fine, wolves fine, bears fine they all run away 99 percent of the time. 1 time bowhunting I shot a grouse and a sow with 3 cubs came in and would t leave, otherwise they run if they see you, smell you,hear you.
Father loses son to horrific event. Brother escapes, but is a witness. If it was a vehicular hit and run, they probably would not have been on an auto-enthusiast podcast to talk about the accident and that Ford mustang that hit them. I’m interested and feel the story should be out there first person, but the question pace and general tone did not give proportional weight to a kid’s death. That may be an impossible task, but watch the dad throughout- this may have been too soon.
I absolutely agree and feel the same way. I almost feel like it’s on the line of distasteful. But maybe it will help bring attention to the lion issue. That’s all we can hope for. I don’t know.
I'm a golf course superintendent. Your take on golf courses being a large user of rodentacides is not only misinformed, it's negligent as well. Golf courses are always the whipping post when it comes to misuse and over use of pesticides. Every golf course superintendent is college educated and we use pesticides as last resort. Some education in this would serve you well
Washington resident here. 50 miles from 2018 fatality. Quote from our game agency WDFW “ these gentlemen did everything right” note they did not have firearms. Note to self, if you end up dead, you have f* cked up big time. Definitely haven’t done everything right. In no way am I criticizing the young men who were involved in this tragedy. They fought like mad for there life. Rather my criticism is for our WDFW who continue to down play the effectiveness of firearms for self defense against apex predators. Now there talking about air dropping Grizzlies into our North Cascades! How do they think that’s going to work out? Steve said 75% of kills are stolen from lions by black bears. What % will Grizzlies take? How many more hungry lions will there be? Not to mention the Grizzlies well documented proclivity for violence. This all in the back yard of the most urban, naive, disarmed population on earth. Unbelievable!
Very well handled interview. In michigan they are seeing more and more and I've seen tracks where I deer hunt. When I shed hunt or anything I carry a gun now or have a dog. To bad that mismanagement of the DNR (my opinion) to make our woods unsafe for our kids.
Man I hate to say it but this is distasteful/disrespectful. It’s like you’re talking to your buddies about a crazy story, not that you’re taking to a father and brother who lost a brother. I don’t know, doesn’t sit right.
Please encourage the young man to get out of the Private Fire Suppression Company. They will burn him out, underpay, and under-appreciate what he brings to the table. Get on with City, County, or CalFire. I have plenty of friends and Family who are in Fire Fighting. I know many who are down in Alameda making north of $200K per year.
At some point I think we have to come to an understanding that a fully restored ecosystem with top predators is ultimately incompatible with human populations residing within or in adjacent areas accessible to that fauna. Both worlds are a threat to each other as long as human lives and livelihoods are valued as much as the existence of native wildlife. The idea that you can bring the two worlds together and expect things to be business as usual is unreasonable at best. As long as human encroachment, population growth, and uneducated people are allowed to invade wild areas, whether it be recreational or habitation, the wilderness will never be allowed to recover. This is both unwanted and not fully understandable to the general population, so preservation of american wilderness cannot be attained by any general voting in any state.
This is so short sighted. The problem isn't that there are lions, or bears, it's that there's too many! You could move humans out of an area but as long as there's no management there's still going to be problems with these animals where humans do live. Unless you just think all people should live in a major metropolitan area and should not be allowed in nature. The answer is much simpler than you make it.. one word, management.
@gregmulfort9577 Too many based on what metric? The populations of top predators right after their near extinction or their interactions with people? Even the host mentioned that current cougar populations are, in general, a fraction of what they were pre-settlement. So going by the other logic, then that is a moving value that will only decrease as more people encroach on wilderness, which in our current human mindset of limitless growth, inevitable. The issue is that more people are interacting with animals to the point of habituation. If you are fine with whittling down their numbers to avoid accidents or protect livelihoods, then you are making a decision to turn our wilderness into a human safe public park that is wild in nothing but name. Better to let the wilderness be alone and keep a buffer space between the public and wild carnivors, that neither are allowed to cross. I'm not against hunters or properly educated people being given access, but they should also be held responsible and liable for any interaction they expose themselves to. We are fortunate that the general public wants our big animals to recover, but that could change with enough public disasters to turn the public away from conservation, which would be detrimental to that cause.
Huntin ain't a stroll through a city park. So if your not prepared for the worst to happen weather it's death or serious injury then you should just stay home!
Oh really? How much time have you spent training hounds to make them effective hunters? If you think it’s “far too easy” I hope you quit your day job and make “easy” money training hunting hounds
@@craig5222 I said nothing about training them. Yes it's hard to train any dog. But it's too easy to hunt with them. Last wolf hunt in Wisconsin was over before it started was close in 2 days. From hound hunters they are too efficient. Nobody else got to hunt other ways and they went way over quota. I'm not completely against it but I wouldn't use them for big game. It also affects traffic and endangers the animal and people in collisions the dogs chase them across roads frequently. If your way out in the wilderness it would be fine.
@@seanbennett7916 ah I gotcha I assume you’re talking about pretty populated areas out west (regarding the people, traffic, etc)? But what is wrong with efficient? Because you can’t be someone that uses “management” as a justification for hunting if you have a problem with too much efficiency when doing so. Must be a different world out there. I’ve been on many a bear race in the southeast that I wouldn’t consider easy for the hunters or the hounds involved
@@craig5222 well would be fine if they split the quota so others that don't use dogs could get a shot at one too, but when it closes in 2 days with a large over quota and non dog hunters, trappers that have tags don't get to use them it's not right. They oversell tags so them make more and assume the quota won't be met.
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The dad’s body language is heart breaking. Prayers to this family
Saddest thing I think I've seen on here I felt his pain it was very clear.i can not imagine what he's going through in this moment.
Amen! 🙏🏻
Exactly my thoughts, I live and hunt in Montana, have 3 young boys I'm teaching to hunt among the growing numbers of grizzlies, this breaks my heart. If this ever happened to one of mine, I don't think I could ever have the courage to go on camera and talk about it. This father has true strength to be able to talk about this and educate, not only other hunters, but the general public on the importance of smart conservation laws in regards to large predators. God bless him and his family.
Cannot say anything 😢❤
It definitely adds a layer of realization that simply listening to the podcast doesn’t deliver. Very humbling.
Man, Steve asked the tough questions but impressive work by Cal here to be so comforting.
God bless Y’all. Wyatt, please don’t burden your life with “did I do enough for my brother?” You’re clearly a fighter, just live your best life and when you meet your brother in heaven, he’ll great you with a smile.
Let’s all pray for this beautiful family. As the young man was telling his story I can see the dad keeping his eyes and face hidden as he hears the horrific story again about his son dying and his other son almost dying. I almost died once. When I retell that story in front of my dad he dries. Stay strong guys. God is with you. Praying for you.
Expert handling of this from the crew. Really tried so slowly make them comfortable and switch to questions if it got too hard
Prayers for this family. Class act in handling this podcast by MeatEater. This is why you are THE best podcast or company out there. Thank you!
I have to say with all respect it took a lot of bravery to talk about this. I honestly couldn’t finish this one. It’s to hard to think of the actual event but not just that what a difference ANY kind of weapon would of made. Prayers to this boy and his family.
Man, what a story. I don't know if I could have been any one of those family members and have been able to hold it together. So sorry for your loss.
This type of subject is what sets this podcast apart from the rest. Thanks Everyone for sharing.
GodBless🙌
That poor dad. He told them about that spot if I'm understanding it correctly? The gut wrenching sorrow, guilt and anguish permeates the room. As a father and grandpa, the heart hurts for the dad. With only one brother, can not fathom the complexities of the emotional terrain this kid will have to navigate. It is incomprehensible. Crew did a great service on an impossible, highly improbable, tragic, surreal situation. The uncle was a great mediator, with a depth of knowledge and ability to communicate when it is way past the father and son dealing with something so far past reality for any of us. Kid did a d@m good job holding it together. No chance I could've done that. Cal is like an uncle we all wish we had. D@mnation that was a rough one to watch, but worth it. Thoughts and prayers!
Thank you Steve for your tenderness with the family. This is why I love your podcast
Great Episode, I live in EDC about 5 miles from this family. This was a huge sadness to the whole community. This family is well known and liked in the county..I hope people listen to this episode and realize what a problem large predators are becoming in this area. You are 100% correct about the bears taking lion kills I see it all the time. Bears in this area have become a huge problem as well. Not only a problem but in the last 6-8 yrs. Bears and cats are losing there fear of humans. When dogs were allowed in the take of bears. A dog could bark and a bear would run and not stop. These days on a weekly basis bears come on my property if my dogs are locked up the bears do what they want. I frequently will come out with a spotlight shining it in their eyes and yelling most of the time there not even fazed they might walk off to the nearest brush and Hideout till I'm back in the house. If I do Let Dogs Out it has to be at least three the Bears will usually try to fight one dog sometimes two over a food source. These days I see several Bears a month when it's warm. When we were allowed the use of dogs to take bears I would never see any bears unless it was hunting season and they were up a tree. I think it's very hard to get accurate numbers out of biologist. Where this tragedy took place they started a Facebook page. Eldorado county Mountain lion sightings. This page gives accurate detailed information on just how many Lions we have and how much livestock are being taken by lions and bears. The Lions are getting to be just as common as the Bears. Like the Bears the Lions have lost Their Fear of humans and dogs. Years ago I was told there was one lion per 5 square miles. If I had to guess now it would probably be around 4 maybe more up until a few years ago I would see one every couple of years. Now I see them pretty frequently. The scary part is I see three or four adult cats together. I believe it's because of the Bears. they lose so much of their kills to bears they are hunting in Prides like African lions. I believe our County had more people during the gold rush then it does now. So I don't believe it's human population increase. Living in the populated cities people find it hard to comprehend. It's different than seeing it every day and it effecting kids, pets, livestock, and the way you would normally do things. I hope people realize that just because it's not happening in there city doesn't mean it's not happening. This will be one of more tragedies to come if something's not done soon.
Agreed. Very well said my family has lived in EDC for 5 generations and I know exactly what you’re talking about. Bring back the cat tag!
WE MUST! Hunt and hound again EDC!
My heart still breaks for the family. Thank you Meateater podcast for having them on the podcast. As a native Californian it truly means a lot
Can't imagine losing a big brother or a son in this way. Was hard watching the Dad when Wyatt told the story. I wish their family finds some peace.
Had a juvenile cat sneak up on me in Idaho. I was working and camping in the LoLo area and just happened to look to my right and 10’ away the 90-100lb cat was crouched. I jumped at it and it took off. Makes me rethink that encounter. I am not small so I wonder if I was if it would have gone down different or if I had my back to the creek instead of angled….
Prayers and thoughts to this family man. I’m from New Zealand and this hurts I have a brother and couldn’t bare to loose him especially in a way such as this. What a warrior you are Wyatt head should be held high mate not much men in the world can go through that and have the heart to tell the story afterwards
Wow! I can't imagine the srength it takes to rehash an experience like that in front of an audience, and to maintain your composure throughout the retelling. What a strong young man. What an awesome family. I'm sorry for your loss, but sharing this will hopefully help prevent any future incidents.
You should take the two them on a hunt to get their spirits back in to the outdoors
Im local to the area where the attack occurred. It infuriated me when it happened because the mountain lion population up here is leading to nightly livestock killings and the cries for state agencies to change legislation has fell on deaf ears.
Cuz they are the enemy and men are to dumb to see it!
As a hunter in the extremely Left Wing PNW, this story saddens and infuriates me at the same time. If the legislators making these laws would spend some time out in the field, and possibly have an encounter with a predator, I bet it would scare them enough to rethink their position on predator control. This is the reason why I ALWAYS carry a sidearm whether I'm archery or rifle hunting. I feel so sad for the family. The father looks lost, and I can't imagine how a parent goes on day to day after losing a child. Hopefully we don't need to lose anymore people due to uneducated bureaucrat's stupid anti-hunting agenda.
Agenda 2030 they call it
We've had a rash of attacks in WA state in recent years... yet they don't let you hunt the gmu's where you'd be most likely to shoot Cougars. In and around Tri Cities has alot of big cats
The state of California killed that boy. I simply cannot fathom losing my brother in that way. Wish nothing but great things for that young man.
God Bless Texas for caring more about doing whats right than hurting the loud minority’s feelings / gaining votes.
Presented very well and with a high level of professionalism...
What a mature honest beautiful family. I respect the whole approach to this personal yet complex issue. I had a friend that realized a lion was 10 yds away, flattened and crouched in the weeds. He was elk hunting, with rifle at ready. The lion sprang and he shot it while in the air. This was on middle Salmon River Idaho.
My condolence to the family and friends
Glad to see Chester
Thanks for this Podcast! Great job to all on this show! Unbelievable! These big predators that are being populated around the states were that way for a reason. People didn't want them near their family or livestock. Now Scientists think they are only there to keep these animals in check, but it's much more than that. Sad.
God bless this family and community
Man, could you imagine? In my calm and cool thoughts from my office, I tell myself that I would have booted that lion on its head if it was on top of my brother but I wasn't there in his shoes. But man, what a heart breaking story.
I bet he re-lives the situation in his mind and thinking about different scenarios and things he could have done to save him. At least I know I would, and it would probably haunt my thoughts to my grave. I hope not and I hope he finds peace. He seems like a great kid.
Yeah I know what you mean. But it’s easy to say you would punch or kick a mountain lion, but most likely that wouldn’t do anything. Punch a 100lb dog and see how useless your punch is. Maybe a kick to the nose might do something but even then, our fists and legs are pretty useless in defense, especially against a full grown mountain lion, just a ball of muscle, prob break your fist on his body and just piss it off. I hope this kid doesn’t hold himself accountable for what happened.
Not to mention he was bit in the freaking face.
My god. Men in this country are toast.
I live in rural Placer County near El Dorado County in Northern California. This story is so tragic. Mountain lions are no longer afraid of humans and their populations have exponentially increased I. The last few years. All of my neighbors have lost livestock to mountain lions and lots of Ring cameras with mountain lion pics. The County trappers say their hands are tied. People are self protecting themselves and their livestock any way they can bcz they know the government will do nothing. The mountain lion killing of this boy should have never happened.
What an absolutely tragic story.
His description of the cat approaching them is terrifying, reminiscent of the Terminator coming after you that's bullets are glancing off its armor
Prayers for this Family!!
Man, heartbreaking episode
Man this is sad to hear I feel terrible for the family. I live in nor cal there’s definitely a problem with cats I tend to worry more about bears as I’ve had multiple run in’s. I’ll be thinking about this story next time I’m out hunting.
Steve did a great job here
Thank you for getting this information out there. Sucks to see such a young man lose his life for nothing. I grew up running bobcats and gray squirrels with hounds. Now it’s just squirrel and fox for me. I’ve called in 3 lions while turkey hunting Northern California. I guide bear hunts up here as well and we’re constantly getting lions on our trail cams. Both the bear and lion populations are out of control.
Last year when I went out turkey hunting by myself all I could think about was calling in a lion. I was so scared 😂😂😂 didn’t hunt very long on that solo trip
Heartbreaking. I feel so bad for this family.😥
These attack stories are hard to listen to at times but alot can be learned about the incident and the situation that caused it.
I couldn’t watch anymore. Hopefully the family recovers. Sorry for your loss
The mountain lion population in California is out of control
I live in California. Started hunting 2 years ago. Every where I go I find lion tracks and scat but never physically see them. I’m always on alert when in the field. And I always carry a big ass knife when archery hunting because California won’t let you carry a side arm during archery hunting deer but if you don’t have a deer tag on you and only a bear tag(while archery hunting) you CAN have a side arm. Make no sense at all.
That’s insane
@@andreww402 That's California
Carry both tags..you still have the right to protect yourself in the National Forest..I’ll take my chances in court..
@@georgelewis9729 yea I hear what you are saying. I’m getting to that point where I rather be caught with it than with out it. But technically you can have a deer tag on you at all if you want to carry a side arm while archery hunting that is until general season starts. It’s for archery season.
Carry a pocket fisherman. Then you can carry!
Can't imagine how hard it must be for the family to come on and keep composure as they did. And horrible to witness it for the youngest. My own experiences in El Dorado, Placer and Sierra Counties when I was going off deep in the woods way off the beaten path and even near where this happened, is that most don't realize just how remote and wild that part of the world is. When I mountain biked and did trail work and maintanence I never carried (call it maybe a bit of naivety) after I started predator hunting I would not set foot into those woods or the outdoors without a sidearm or a good knife.
Absolutely heartbreaking ❤️🩹
Grew up in this area. The cats and bears have changed in the last 30 years. A friend in Mendocino got stalked by two juvenile cats on his land.
This one was rough. I cant imagine, nor do i want to, what its like to experience an attack like that or watch my brother be killed by a lion.
timestamps are not right, i went to the detailed account and it was all about mountain lion populations couldn't find anything about the attack
First of all wow, what a story, I am so sorry for this horrible tragedy.
I have had my own personal experience with being an inch away from certain life or death. It effects you in ways you can't imagine.
I really hope this young man finds a way to grieve for his brother and process this whole ordeal. I can’t imagine what this would be like to go through…
As someone who lived in socal, I think they could care less about rural individuals and ranchers as they feel intellectually better and more intitetled. It is honestly, "if it doesn't affect me I don't care how it impacts you"
Not sure I'm going to be able to make it though this one. Heartbreaking. I feel so bad for this family.
This is so hard to hear, prayers to the family
when will these liberal states wake up and realize that human lives are more valuable than animals? we as hunters and outdoorsman need to stop being so timid and polite to the fringe of liberals. its time for all of us to tell it like it is. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. it is completely un natural for animals to not have a fear of humans, and this family has suffered the consequence of just that. i am beyond disgusted, i truly hope that this story could some day be the catalyst to effect a change back to common sense.
THANK YOU.
Prayers to that family
Thank You Remi!
What a sad story, And knowing it will be repeated in Colorado, because of 127. Makes me angry. Elections have consequences.
God bless this family
I am a cougar attack survivor. 1996 in the Olympic National Park. I would love to share my story. Privately. I owe you. Becase if you i got a Roosevelt elk my first day of my first hunt. I was able to process the animal fully based on your videos.
Fucking hell. I lost my brother a few years back and that was hard, i cant even imagine seeing it happen in such a horrific manner. I hope these guys are doing alright. What a nightmare.
The fact that he could speak on this is crazy
Here in rural Packwood, WA the cats numbers have increased. It's caused a lot of problems with folks here in the valley that raise livestock. If you've never seen what these beautiful death machines can do you'd be shocked. We have seen them during the day too many times. Its not good.
Is your sheriff hiring more trappers?
Damn that was a terrible story. When I think back to myself at that age being in the boyscouts and camping I would have had no answer for a lion in the woods. Glad I'm able to carry a gun with me now.
Fuck man, what a grueling story. As a 24 year old kid with a younger brother who’s my best friend and having a deployment as a grunt. I can’t imagine leaving my brother with a cat on his neck. I don’t knock the kid at all but just so sad to think about. He’s gonna always carry that guilt.
That’s my thoughts exactly. My brother and I spend a lot of time picking up horns and hunting. I think I would rather try everything I could and possibly die then just leave my brother there
You don’t know what you would do or how you would react. Especially after a substantial amount of blood loss and confusion. Sometimes it’s best to not say really anything at all when a family has opened themselves up. Probabaly not something he needs to hear or read.
@@jonahmosher3314 I think I know exactly what’d I do bro. Considering I’ve seen real world casualties and I’ve experienced a couple gunfights myself. I’m not knocking the kid at all, everyone is different and I had a lot of training in stress induced environments before all of that. But to be a big brother and my brother being my best friend I couldn’t ever imagine leaving him like that.
I went to school with Wyatt the whole story crazy
This kid is so strong, after trying to intimidate the lion, hitting it with a bag, slamming it to the ground and choking it, it is so wild that the cat then went after his brother.
Anyone else notice the sound guy scrolling twitter in the glare of the TV lol
Man, this was rough. I would rather have read this story than heard the first hand account. I feel terrible for this kid- such a bad spot to be in.
Hope he sticks with wildland he will love it! Been at it for 7 yrs and structural 16
Was working out in the Oregon coast range a few weeks ago and a hunter had gotten a photo of one right next to a FS gate. We found scat signs and ran into something out in one of the meadows we were weed whacking. Tree shook, got a growl, co worker and I backed out and just left for the day. Boss thinks it was a black bear but I just felt like we'd have seen a bear. Think we ended up disturbing a napping lion and it just gave us a " back off " growl.
And Colorado is about to pass a ballot initiative to outlaw Lion hunting because they appeal to the emotions of Denver and Boulder.
I think the only way to make governments wake up to predator control is for the families to start suing them after incidents like these. That will bring the incident more exposure and keep it in the news cycle longer. It's to the point where the New Jersey cat ladies and the the heads of some of the state and federal agencies managing wildlife value the animal's life more than the citizens. My cousin's coworker was hiking in Yellowstone. He was carrying a sidearm. Shortly before his trip a person was killed not far from where his hike took place one morning. A ways into his hike he bumped into a grizzly with cubs that kept advancing on him and appeared it was getting ready to charge. At one point he fired off a warning shot which made the bear run away. He notified park staff so they could close down the trail for the day and the park staff gave him a 4 figure fine and confiscated his handgun because it's illegal to discharge a firearm in Yellowstone National Park.
23:35 I have to comment on the cat population of Cali. From what I’ve seen, and have studied and been informed by the dept of fish and wildlife biologists here. There is a big problem on the horizon. My understanding is that since dogs have been outlawed for bear hunting. A lot of people are not targeting/ hunting bears anymore. They get tags just be legal if they have to take a bear. But it’s not usually the primary in most circumstances. Yes, there still are some bear hunters and guide services.
On average, the cats take about a deer a week now that can be 7-10-14 days depending on some variables. Packs, singles etc.
But the cats don’t finish their meal, so they bury the carcass.
Now the bears have a better nose than the cats and they will dig up the carcass and splurge especially in the fall and spring. They’ll eat everything and sometimes the bears eat so much they vomit. I’ve seen it.
Well now the cats go to feed and their kill has been dug up spoiled and ravished by the trash pandas.
So now, the cats have to kill double to triple the amount of deer.
No one is hunting the cats. Very little people are hunting the bear, and everyone is still hunting the deer.
The cat population is exploding and the bear population is exploding. The deer population is in massive decline and they are being pressured from everyone. Including the wildfires/habitat, droughts, diseases etc.
It’s nuts.
A state that doesn’t allow trapping. Sad
Just started this episode, thought I’d check on what others were saying in the comments. Now I’m nervous haha
Dont go looking for this story on RUclips... There are some pretty sick comments in other videos of this and I am sure they will find their way here eventually.
Rough. 😞
Lions are running this state
Dang sad episode
CDFW needs to come around to the realization that we need scientific based management strategies ie hunting brought back for mountain lions in this state, the population is growing and attacks are clearly increasing. Rip Taylen
They won't they are controlled by TRICKY Masons and the UN!
Unit 3 north idaho a big healthy male approached me while parked at a saddle at my truck when getting ready to hike for mushrooms. I had a rifle because bear season was open. He walked out in the saddle and at first I was just amazed to see one and taken back by how muscular it was . It stopped broad side at 10 yards or soand looked at me like do we have a problem here. that was the moment It clicked I had a sportsman's pack in my pocket which includes a lion tag , don't know if he had intentions to come closer or not but the second it clicked in my head that was a legal game animal I shouldered my rifle and shot it behind the shoulder it jumped and flipped and spun off into some thick brush and died. had it checked at fish and game and took it to the taxidermist it was 8 foot 3 inches long from tip to tail. This was in a popular place for casual folks to hike and camp and bike . I had just pulled up in a diesel and had just gotten out he had to have heard and seen me pull up. There was no fear in that cat and we can hunt the shit out of them a tag in every sportsman's pack. It really surprised me because I'm an avid outdoors man that hikes deep and steep my whole life and had only ever seen 1 cat and that was at dusk one slinked thru the tall grass of a power line 25 years ago.
Tragic story, whats happened to the California lion population is going to happen to Colorado if Proposition 127 is passed which bans the hunting of all big cats
Sorry for your loss and wish you the best for healing. But California is like Florida far to populated by people. The loss of wilderness is insane and the animals that can adapt to live in less wild areas and more people controlled areas are doing so. It's not their fault it's people and way the hell to many people. Live with them, go out in pairs carry spray, just be smart about it. Yes there needs to be hunting to manage the numbers but I'm afraid that people are going to push too far. If an animal takes a person there's a reason for it most times. And we shouldn't hunt them down for revenge unless they make a habit of it, 3 strikes sort of thing. And the fools in national parks they are super stupid give them a Darwin award and leave the animals be. I've had 2 mt lion in Wisconsin was fine, wolves fine, bears fine they all run away 99 percent of the time. 1 time bowhunting I shot a grouse and a sow with 3 cubs came in and would t leave, otherwise they run if they see you, smell you,hear you.
Father loses son to horrific event. Brother escapes, but is a witness. If it was a vehicular hit and run, they probably would not have been on an auto-enthusiast podcast to talk about the accident and that Ford mustang that hit them. I’m interested and feel the story should be out there first person, but the question pace and general tone did not give proportional weight to a kid’s death. That may be an impossible task, but watch the dad throughout- this may have been too soon.
I absolutely agree and feel the same way. I almost feel like it’s on the line of distasteful.
But maybe it will help bring attention to the lion issue. That’s all we can hope for. I don’t know.
Ban mountain lions not guns!
Or just manage both
This was 30 min from my house
What are YOU doing about it?
I'm a golf course superintendent. Your take on golf courses being a large user of rodentacides is not only misinformed, it's negligent as well. Golf courses are always the whipping post when it comes to misuse and over use of pesticides. Every golf course superintendent is college educated and we use pesticides as last resort. Some education in this would serve you well
pipe down carl spackler
Washington resident here. 50 miles from 2018 fatality. Quote from our game agency WDFW “ these gentlemen did everything right” note they did not have firearms. Note to self, if you end up dead, you have f* cked up big time. Definitely haven’t done everything right.
In no way am I criticizing the young men who were involved in this tragedy. They fought like mad for there life. Rather my criticism is for our WDFW who continue to down play the effectiveness of firearms for self defense against apex predators.
Now there talking about air dropping Grizzlies into our North Cascades! How do they think that’s going to work out? Steve said 75% of kills are stolen from lions by black bears. What % will Grizzlies take? How many more hungry lions will there be? Not to mention the Grizzlies well documented proclivity for violence. This all in the back yard of the most urban, naive, disarmed population on earth. Unbelievable!
Rewilding
Very well handled interview.
In michigan they are seeing more and more and I've seen tracks where I deer hunt. When I shed hunt or anything I carry a gun now or have a dog.
To bad that mismanagement of the DNR (my opinion) to make our woods unsafe for our kids.
Can they be tracked with dogs legally but not hunted in Michigan? I live north of gaylord.
@sshlept8070 last i heard it was illegal to pursue in any manor but not sure
Man I hate to say it but this is distasteful/disrespectful. It’s like you’re talking to your buddies about a crazy story, not that you’re taking to a father and brother who lost a brother. I don’t know, doesn’t sit right.
Please encourage the young man to get out of the Private Fire Suppression Company. They will burn him out, underpay, and under-appreciate what he brings to the table. Get on with City, County, or CalFire. I have plenty of friends and Family who are in Fire Fighting. I know many who are down in Alameda making north of $200K per year.
How on earth do you leave your brother. You shouldn't have had this kid on
At some point I think we have to come to an understanding that a fully restored ecosystem with top predators is ultimately incompatible with human populations residing within or in adjacent areas accessible to that fauna. Both worlds are a threat to each other as long as human lives and livelihoods are valued as much as the existence of native wildlife. The idea that you can bring the two worlds together and expect things to be business as usual is unreasonable at best. As long as human encroachment, population growth, and uneducated people are allowed to invade wild areas, whether it be recreational or habitation, the wilderness will never be allowed to recover. This is both unwanted and not fully understandable to the general population, so preservation of american wilderness cannot be attained by any general voting in any state.
This is a very rare occurrence and humans are rarely the ones who lose. Most anti hunting legislation has little to no logic behind.
This is so short sighted. The problem isn't that there are lions, or bears, it's that there's too many!
You could move humans out of an area but as long as there's no management there's still going to be problems with these animals where humans do live. Unless you just think all people should live in a major metropolitan area and should not be allowed in nature. The answer is much simpler than you make it.. one word, management.
@gregmulfort9577 Too many based on what metric? The populations of top predators right after their near extinction or their interactions with people? Even the host mentioned that current cougar populations are, in general, a fraction of what they were pre-settlement. So going by the other logic, then that is a moving value that will only decrease as more people encroach on wilderness, which in our current human mindset of limitless growth, inevitable. The issue is that more people are interacting with animals to the point of habituation. If you are fine with whittling down their numbers to avoid accidents or protect livelihoods, then you are making a decision to turn our wilderness into a human safe public park that is wild in nothing but name. Better to let the wilderness be alone and keep a buffer space between the public and wild carnivors, that neither are allowed to cross. I'm not against hunters or properly educated people being given access, but they should also be held responsible and liable for any interaction they expose themselves to. We are fortunate that the general public wants our big animals to recover, but that could change with enough public disasters to turn the public away from conservation, which would be detrimental to that cause.
*Taylen Brooks
I don’t know guys it’s a bit awkward for me.
And at the same time how much wild lion areas are now destroyed by human in roach mentality
Incroachment and loss of the lion territory.
Very little!
❤
Was the mountain lion also tested for “human” drugs? Mdma fentanyl etc.
Huntin ain't a stroll through a city park. So if your not prepared for the worst to happen weather it's death or serious injury then you should just stay home!
😅🤣😂, bottom line, the lion finally won one. I don't have any pity for them or the family.
Goddamnit, I came here to get away from politics. I’m done
Need to ban lion and bear and wolf hunting with dogs period. Its far too easy and not sporting.
Oh really? How much time have you spent training hounds to make them effective hunters? If you think it’s “far too easy” I hope you quit your day job and make “easy” money training hunting hounds
@@craig5222 I said nothing about training them. Yes it's hard to train any dog. But it's too easy to hunt with them. Last wolf hunt in Wisconsin was over before it started was close in 2 days. From hound hunters they are too efficient. Nobody else got to hunt other ways and they went way over quota. I'm not completely against it but I wouldn't use them for big game. It also affects traffic and endangers the animal and people in collisions the dogs chase them across roads frequently. If your way out in the wilderness it would be fine.
@@seanbennett7916 ah I gotcha I assume you’re talking about pretty populated areas out west (regarding the people, traffic, etc)? But what is wrong with efficient? Because you can’t be someone that uses “management” as a justification for hunting if you have a problem with too much efficiency when doing so. Must be a different world out there. I’ve been on many a bear race in the southeast that I wouldn’t consider easy for the hunters or the hounds involved
@@craig5222 well would be fine if they split the quota so others that don't use dogs could get a shot at one too, but when it closes in 2 days with a large over quota and non dog hunters, trappers that have tags don't get to use them it's not right. They oversell tags so them make more and assume the quota won't be met.