How to Escape a Mountain Lion

Ripped straight from the news headlines, today's survival tip from my Worst Case Scenario desktop calendar.....
How to Escape a Mountain Lion

Apparently the best way to escape a mountain lion is to flash it. The picture shows this guy spreading his coat wide to a lion on a rock above him. Sure, he's got clothes on in the picture but reality is that we all go hiking in trench coats with nothing on underneath and a porn groove soundtrack in our heads.

Show the big cat your big snake and scare him off!

Actually, here's the real instructions with my sarcasm in italics.

1. Try to make yourself appear bigger by opening your coat. The lion is less likely to attack a larger animal. You could also try thumping your chest Tarzan-style because lions are probably less likely to want to attack a nut case too.
2. If the lion still behaves aggressively, throw stones. Convince the lion you are not prey. I'd imagine that sticks would work as well and I'd prefer having a nice big stick to fend off a lion if it does attack.
3. If you are attacked, fight back. Most mountain lions are small enough that an average sized human can ward off an attack. Do not curl up and play dead. Playing dead pretend is, apparently, a good way of landing the part forever. Remember that lions are cats and cats are cruel creatures at heart. They will happily maul a "dead" body.