It's funny you should mention mountain lions. I've been reading a book called Cycling, Philosophy For Everyone, one of a series covering many different subjects. (I'm not a philosopher but I do consider myself a cyclist.) Each major section begins with a real-life story by one of the editors, of the kind of story that makes one think.

The story I just read is about an episode where the author of that story and his daughter are on mtbs, riding some wild country in California (I think it must be). As they top a ridge they are confronted by a cougar. It is a moving and frightening incident. The cougar decides they aren't the least bit noteworthy, and so moves on. You come to know your values better after an event like that.