A hunter came face-to-face with an angry mountain lion - and says she 'had to' shoot the animal in order to protect herself, after failing to scare it away.
In the hunter's own footage, she can be seen desperately attempting to chase away the mountain lion by shouting and growling at it. However, the big cat refuses to leave and the hunter pulls out her gun to shoot.
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The hunter - identified only as McKenzie - was out hunting alone in Gunnison, Colorado earlier this month when she spotted the cougar.
She explained: "I was hunting alone in the mountains of Gunnison, Colorado when I looked up and saw the cougar standing right in front of me.
"I took a picture and started the video on my phone, then tried to scare it away by yelling and waving my arms. The cougar didn't react at first, but did finally start running off to the right.
"Then, when it got into the shadows, it turned and started coming toward me.
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"I threw my phone down, took a few steps backward, and got my gun ready to shoot.
"The cougar stopped on the log eight yards in front of me, growling and hissing. I continued trying to scare it away, but its body language only became more threatening, until it appeared ready to pounce
"So I shot it, and it ran away. Then I went and found my dad to tell him what happened."
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In the clip, shortly after she shoots, McKenzie explains: "I had to shoot him. I was afraid he was going to pounce on me.
"I'm shaking so bad. He ran away. I don't know if he's going to die or not. I'm not going to look for him.
"That was the craziest moment of my life."
In a follow up video, McKenzie explained what happened, she confirmed the animal had died following the incident.
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She explained: "The mountain lion did ultimately die and I'm very sad about that.
"I wanted it to keep living, that's why I tried too hard to scare it away. I didn't want to shoot it.
"It was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen up close like that so I was very sad that it ended up dying.
"But I'm also just very, very grateful that I was able to get through that situation."
Featured Image Credit: ViralHog