SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A runner at Mission Trails Regional Park had a terrifying encounter with a mountain lion on a trail in the eastern part of the park, coming within feet of the animal before scaring it off. The incident is the latest in a series of mountain lion sightings at the park since June.
Two Thursdays ago, just before 6 a.m., David Blome set out on his regular run on the Grasslands Loop Trail. Minutes into his run, he looked back.
"Running down this trail here, something told me to look behind me, and 15 feet behind me was a pretty good sized mountain lion walking after me," Blome said.
Blome froze for a moment before instinct took over — but not in the right direction.
"That's when I started to make mistake of running away from it down the trail. It followed after me, got faster, got within 5 to 8 feet of me. It showed me its teeth, and got down like it was getting ready to pounce," Blome said.
In that moment, Blome feared the worst.
"Seriously thought about this could be it. I thought of my family. It was a scary moment," Blome said.
He then recalled what experts recommend when confronted by a mountain lion — make yourself as large and loud as possible.
"I went 'Ahhhh!' as loud as I could. I was just yelling some stuff you can't say on the news. i was frightened, but I got as big as I could," Blome said.
The mountain lion ran off, watching him the whole way.
Blome's encounter comes nearly 2 months after I spoke with Gabe Yanez, who came face to face with a mountain lion during an evening jog on a trail just to the west of where Blome was running.
"As soon as I saw it, I was thinking mountain lion, mountain lion! Freaked the heck out of me," Yanez said in an August interview.
Yanez also managed to scare off the animal.
“Waving, yelling, screaming at it. At one point, it showed its teeth, and I showed my teeth," Yanez said.
Yanez was able to take photos of the mountain lion during the encounter. When Blome watched the story, he had a reaction to those images.
"It looks roughly the same size," Blome said.
Park rangers say there have been 9 confirmed mountain lion sightings since June. The animals are native to the park.
On Thursday, park officials posted on Instagram that a mountain lion was struck and killed by a vehicle nearby, on Highway 67. It is not known if it is the same cougar seen in and around the park.
Warning signs about the sightings remain posted throughout the park. Blome said he hopes his experience serves as a reminder to other visitors.
"I'm glad everyone is hearing more and more about it. It was a scary encounter you should be prepared for," Blome said. “I would have run with a buddy, or brought something like an air horn."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
