Colorado Parks & Wildlife estimates there are between 3,000 and 7,000 mountain lions living in the Centennial State.

While encountering a mountain lion is quite rare, thanks to the advancement of cell phone and trail/security cameras, we are capturing encounters much more often.

In the past few years, there have been numerous mountain lion encounters in the state. These three videos below are some of the more dramatic interactions with a majestic wild cat.

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How would you react if you encountered one of these animals?

Mountain Lions Attack Deputy Near Loveland

In this incident of March, 2021, a 91-pound mountain lion attacked deputies at Loveland's Riverview RV Park & Campground. It was later revealed that the mountain lion had rabies.

Fortunately, the deputies were able to stop the attack with gun fire. Only minor injuries were reported from the deputies, who were also monitored for possible rabies exposure.

Young Hunter Bravely Stops Attack Near Gunnison

This young lady came face-to-face with an aggressive mountain lion in November, 2020. She tried to intimidate the cat, but eventually threw down her phone and grabbed her rifle.

In the end, she had no choice but to fire on the cat. That part is not shown on video. Once she collected herself and caught her breath, she showed where the mountain lion was and described why she did what she did.

It was determined the young hunter followed all of the proper protocols.

Bow Hunter Fends Off Mountain Lion Attack

While elk hunting in Colorado earlier in 2018, Trevor Brown said he kept hearing rustling in the bushes behind him. His first assumption is that it was a deer or elk.

When Brown finally got up to stretch out and investigate, he found himself in a standoff with a mountain lion that was 10 feet away. The mountain lion was hissing and staring right at Brown.

While Brown carries a gun with him while bow hunting, it wasn't nearby. Instead, he trusted his bow and arrow. His shot went through the mountain lion and staved off the attack — Brown said the Colorado Parks and Wildlife investigation ruled it was self-defense.

Brown was lucky he reacted as quickly and decisively as he did. Brown shared video and a Facebook post of the incident.

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