The Chronicle’s “Urban Animal” columnist Hank Pellissier interviews Lynn Sadler, director of the Mountain Lion Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving our state’s largest feline. Among the topics covered: how to save your life if you are attacked by a mountain lion.

If you are stalked or confronted by a mountain lion, do not run. Lions can leap several yards and run up to 55 miles per hour. You cannot outrun them, and running triggers their predator response. What you should do is keep your face toward them, pull your coat open and raise your arms, so that the mountain lion thinks you are bigger than you are. If you are attacked, you should fight back, hitting the mountain lion with rocks, your backpack, fanny pack, walking sticks, anything.