Lion attacks are one of the most frightening things that can happen. With such large animals charging or growling at you, it can be a nightmare. For this reason, you may wonder how one can survive a lion attack if it faces one. Thus, you may ask:
How to survive a lion attack? If you’re facing a lion attack, the essential things you need to do, or not to do, is not to panic, not to run and turn your back against the lion, and to retreat slowly.
Lions are dangerous animals, and any human they face won’t stand a chance against them. For this reason, it’s essential that you know what to do should you ever find yourself in this dangerous situation.
In this article, you’ll see a step-by-step guide on how to survive a lion attack. This way, you can know what to do and how you can avoid getting harmed or even killed by these animals.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
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Can a human survive a lion attack?
A human can survive a lion attack, and while it sounds impossible and frightening, anyone can escape if they know what to do.
Many people in safaris and even simple travelers and locals can encounter lions roaming around.
For this reason, many lion-caused incidents happen every year. Of course, all these incidents are avoidable if you know what to do.
Although lions are aggressive, they are also careful and watchful of their prey. Thus, they can chase you whenever you started running, or they can leave you alone eventually if you stay still and don’t turn your back on them.
It’s for this reason that a certain percentage of lion encounter successfully prevents injury.
What are the chances of surviving a lion attack?
Surviving a lion attack isn’t a pure chance, and you can do so by simply doing some steps.
However, in general, records show that 38 percent of people who moved slowly away from a lion escapes without injury.
People who completely freeze and stops moving are less likely to escape without injury.
While the percentage is lesser than hopeful, it still makes a lot of difference if you won’t turn your back on lions or even run away from them.
For this reason, it’s essential always to remember what to do to survive a lion attack.
Related: Do Lions Attack and Eat Humans?
Three ways to survive a lion attack
Lion attacks can be frightening and can make you run out of fear. However, it’s also important not to cause anything to provoke lions to pounce more from you.
If you ever run into these kinds of situations, you may want to follow and use these ways or steps to survive a lion attack.
Stay calm and don’t panic.
It’s hard to force yourself to remain calm and not panic when there’s a lion in front of you.
However, staying calm and not panicking can go a long way, and it can even save your life from danger.
For this reason, do your best to hold yourself together and remain calm. Being calm allows you to think straight and also plan the next steps you need to do.
It can be pretty challenging, as the growl of a lion can cause the ground to shake. It can be a trembling experience, but you must do so so you can stay alive.
Don’t turn your back and don’t run.
The next thing you need to do is not to run away and never turn your back from the lion.
Lions see you as prey, and your best bet is to show that you’re not. It’s for this reason that it’s important not to run. If you do, you already show that you’re afraid of the lion, and it will charge towards you more.
Lions see you as prey, and your best bet is to show that you’re not. It’s for this reason that it’s important not to run. If you do, you already show that you’re afraid of the lion, and it will charge towards you more.
Now, once you face the lion, it will continue to stare and growl. What you can do is turn while clapping your hands. You also need to shout and wave your arms.
This way, you’ll make yourself bigger in front of the lion. It will also establish yourself as a threatening one and not a prey they can chase and harm.
Begin to retreat, but do it slowly.
The next thing you need to do is to step backward, slowly but surely. While doing so, be sure not to turn your back against the lion.
Moreover, it would be best if you continued waving your arms and shouting. This way, the lion will only continue staring and moving closer slowly.
Always remember that running away can make the lion sense your fear and chase you. Thus, it’s essential to remain threatening the lion before you turn your back.
In general, these steps can help you avoid a lion from charging and coming towards you.
The next thing to do is to prepare yourself if ever the lion charges again. If it ever happens, you need to shout with the loudest shout you can. It should stop the lion from approaching and turning its back from you.
Should you look a lion in the eyes?
Looking at a lion’s eyes might be scary, but it can help you determine how the lion is doing. Moreover, it will help you know if the lion is receiving your threats or is just moving closer.
Some people believe that looking a lion in the eye would only make them chase you more. However, it’s your best chance.
Moreover, looking the lion in the eye helps you establish yourself as a threat and not a potential prey for him to pounce.
Instead of turning back and running away, facing the lion and looking it in the eye would be better.
What do you do when a lion chases you?
If a lion chases you, it would seem like you were running. It is important not to run and face the lion.
It would be best to stay calm and stand your ground while facing the lion. This way, it will stop the lion from running and start being more careful in its next steps.
Now, if you see someone that can help you, do your best to shout as loud as you can so that they can hear you.
This way, you can get help while making an expression to the lion that you’re a threat instead of prey.
Summary
So, how do you survive a lion attack? If you’re facing a lion attack, the essential things you need to do, or not to do, is not to panic, not to run and turn your back against the lion, and to retreat slowly.
The important thing you need to remember is that lions are cautious with their moves, and they would first study you if you’re prey or a threat. It’s for this reason that they don’t attack immediately upon sight.
With this in mind, you need to establish yourself as another threat and not a potential prey. You can do it by shouting, waving, and not turning your back, and running away.
Lions are dangerous animals, and any human they face won’t stand a chance against them. For this reason, you mustn’t make yourself prey if you ever find yourself in this dangerous situation.
Resources
Image credits – Canva
