Trail Safety and Animal Encounters: What to Do (And What You'll Actually Do)

By Sloth & Duck | Trail Running Apparel & Outdoor Adventure Gear

Every trail runner and hiker has a story. Maybe it was the rustling in the bushes that turned out to be a squirrel. Maybe it was a rattlesnake coiled perfectly in the middle of the singletrack at mile 23. Maybe it was a bison standing directly on the trail at Antelope Island, completely unbothered, while you stood there frantically pulling out your phone instead of backing away like every wildlife safety guide in existence told you to.

The truth is, trail safety and wildlife encounters are serious topics, and also, if you've spent enough miles on dirt, genuinely hilarious ones. Because no matter how many times you've read the protocols, the moment you actually encounter something out there, your body does whatever it wants.

This guide covers what you should do when you encounter the most common trail animals. We'll also be honest about what most of us actually do. Consider it your honest field guide to surviving the outdoors, and if you want to wear your hard-earned trail wisdom on your chest, we've got you covered in our Funny Running & Outdoor Apparel collection.

Mountain Lion / Cougar Encounters

Mountain lions are one of the most feared and least frequently encountered predators on the trail. They are stealthy, fast, and almost never seen, which somehow makes it worse, because you know they can see you just fine.

What you should do: Make yourself appear large. Wave your arms, raise your jacket, open your vest. Speak firmly and loudly. Maintain eye contact and back away slowly. Never crouch down and absolutely never run — running triggers their prey instinct and a mountain lion will outpace you without breaking a sweat.

What you will actually do: Panic. Run. Cry. PR 4:12/mile.

The good news is that mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare. The better news is that if you do happen to spot one and manage to follow even half of the actual advice, you will almost certainly be fine. The trail running community has embraced this particular anxiety with characteristic dark humor, and honestly, if you can laugh about it before mile one, you'll be a better decision-maker at mile thirty.

Wear the anxiety proudly: Grab our Funny Cougar Safety T-Shirt — it captures this exact energy perfectly.

Black Bear Encounters

Black bears are far more commonly encountered than mountain lions, particularly in the Eastern US, Appalachians, and Pacific Northwest. The good news: black bears are generally not aggressive toward humans and are far more interested in your pack and your snacks than in you.

What you should do: Speak softly and calmly. Make yourself known, bears generally want to avoid you as much as you want to avoid them. Back away slowly without turning your back. Avoid direct eye contact, which can be perceived as a challenge. Do not run.

What you will actually do: Scream. Drop your poles. Cry. Set an unplanned 5K PR.

The most important thing to remember with black bears is that running is counterproductive. A black bear can hit 35 miles per hour. Your best tempo pace is not going to win that race. Stand your ground, look large, make noise, and back away.

Hikers and trail runners should also be aware that food storage matters enormously. Bears that associate humans with food become habituated and dangerous. Always store your food properly at camp, and never leave wrappers or gel packets on the trail.

And while we're being honest about the bear encounter experience, don't miss this classic: our "You Don't Have To Outrun The Bear, Just Your Friends" T-Shirt — possibly the most accurate piece of trail running advice ever printed on a shirt. Our brand new Black Bear Safety T-Shirt is also now live and ready for your next run.

Rattlesnake Encounters

Rattlesnakes are the most universally dreaded trail obstacle in the American West, Southwest, and increasingly, much of the Southeast. They are also, objectively, doing nothing wrong. They want to be left alone. You are the problem.

What you should do: Stay calm. Back away slowly without sudden movement. Give the snake at least six feet of space. Do not attempt to handle or move it. Watch where you step, particularly on warm rocks in the morning when snakes are thermoregulating.

What you will actually do: Scream. Trip. Roll ankle. DNF.

The rolled ankle is the real danger of a rattlesnake encounter on the trail, not the bite itself, which is genuinely rare when you give the snake space. Most bites happen when people try to handle or step over a snake they spotted. The snake is not hunting you. It is sitting on a warm rock trying to get its core temperature up. Respect the rock.

One critical note: the vast majority of "rattlesnake sightings" on trails are sticks. This is not a joke. It is a documented phenomenon. A stick at mile 18 in poor light will take ten years off your life. We have designed an entire shirt around this truth and stand by it completely.

Shop both: our Rattlesnake Safety T-Shirt and the equally essential Trail Snake Safety T-Shirt, because sometimes the snake is a stick, and that is somehow worse.

Bison Encounters

If you run races or hike trails in the American West, particularly in and around Yellowstone, Grand Teton, or Antelope Island State Park in Utah — you will eventually encounter bison. They are enormous, deceptively fast, and completely indifferent to your race schedule.

What you should do: Give bison at least 25 yards of space at all times. Do not approach for photographs. If a bison turns to face you, raises its tail, or begins to paw the ground, back away immediately. Bison can run 35 miles per hour and are responsible for more injuries in Yellowstone than any other animal.

What you will actually do: Stop. Stare. Post to Strava. Get gored.

The Strava post is the most trail-runner-specific danger of bison country. The impulse to document the encounter for your followers is almost impossible to resist, and the time it takes to frame the perfect shot is exactly the time you should be quietly and calmly increasing your distance. The bison does not care about your follower count.

For those who have run, or dreamed of running, the incredible trails of the mountain west, our bison collection has you covered. Grab the Bison Safety T-Shirt for the safety series vibe, or our beloved Do Not Pet The Fluffy Cows Bison Retro Sunset T-Shirt for a more vintage National Park feel. Either way, back away slowly first.

Wild Hog Encounters

Feral hogs are an increasingly common trail hazard, particularly in the South, Texas, and parts of the Midwest. They are fast, territorial when cornered, and travel in groups called sounders. Finding a sounder of feral hogs on a predawn trail run is a legitimate and deeply unpleasant experience.

What you should do: Stay calm. Back away slowly. Do not run, it can trigger a charge. Give the animals space and if possible, climb a tree. Feral hogs cannot climb and will typically move on if left alone.

What you will actually do: Scream. Climb a tree. Miss the cutoff.

The "climb a tree" advice is one of the few genuinely correct pieces of wildlife safety advice that is also legitimately funny in context. Anyone who has ever bonked at mile 40 of a trail race can perfectly visualize sitting in a tree waiting for a herd of wild hogs to clear the trail while their cutoff time ticks away below.

Our Feral Hog Safety T-Shirt is built for those who have been there, or those who want to be prepared. Browse our full Ultra collection for gear built for the kind of runner who finishes regardless of what wildlife they encounter along the way.

Yellowjackets and Ground Wasps

This one does not get enough coverage in trail safety guides. Yellowjackets nest underground, their nests are invisible until you've already stepped on one, and they will absolutely ruin your race. They are also, objectively, the most disproportionate animal threat on the trail, tiny, ubiquitous, and capable of inducing a full sprint from a person who has been moving at a comfortable 11-minute pace for six hours.

What you should do: Move quickly and calmly away from the area. Do not swat, it agitates the swarm. Cover your face if possible. Antihistamines in your pack are advisable if you know you are allergic.

What you will actually do: Step on the nest. Sprint mile 5 in 5:30. Never replicate that pace again for the rest of your life.

The involuntary PR is a genuinely documented phenomenon among trail runners who have hit a yellowjacket nest mid-race. Your body unlocks reserves it did not know existed when properly motivated by a cloud of angry insects. The tragedy is that no amount of structured training will ever reproduce that split.

Wear the trauma: our Yellow Jacket Safety T-Shirt is now live and is possibly the most cathartic shirt in the entire collection.

Ticks

Ticks deserve their own section because they operate differently from every other trail hazard. They do not startle you. They do not charge you. They do not rattle. They simply wait, find you, and then you discover them at 10pm while your Google search history takes a sharp turn toward infectious disease forums.

What you should do: Wear permethrin-treated clothing on long trail runs. Check yourself thoroughly after every run, hairline, behind the knees, waistband, armpits. Remove any attached ticks with fine-tipped tweezers, pulling steadily upward. Monitor for symptoms over the following weeks.

What you will actually do: Spiral. Google symptoms. Self diagnose Lyme. Retire.

The Lyme disease spiral is one of the most universally shared post-trail-run experiences in existence. You find a tick, you remove it correctly, and then you spend the next 72 hours convincing yourself you have every symptom on the CDC website simultaneously. You do not have Lyme disease. You are tired because you ran 30 miles. Drink some water.

That said, Lyme disease is real, tick-borne illness is genuinely serious, and proper tick checks are non-negotiable trail hygiene. Take it seriously. Just also maybe close the browser tab after the first search.

The Deer at 4am

This is not technically a safety concern. It is a psychological one.

There is a specific type of trail encounter that every runner who has ever strapped on a headlamp before dawn has experienced. You are moving well through a dark forest. You are in flow. And then, directly in your path, completely silent and appearing from nowhere, is a deer. A large deer. With eyes that reflect your headlamp like two small moons. Standing absolutely still.

What you should do: Stay calm. It sees you. Back away slowly. It was there first.

What you will actually do: Scream. Scare it. Scare yourself. Same time.

The mutual terror of the 4am deer encounter is one of the most bonding experiences in trail running culture. The deer does not want to be there either. You both leave the encounter having questioned your life choices. It is fine. Our Deer Safety T-Shirt exists specifically for this moment and the people who have lived it.

The Other Trail Runner

There is one more encounter that does not get nearly enough safety coverage: another runner coming up silently behind you on a singletrack descent when you are deep in your own head and absolutely not expecting company.

What you should do: Step aside. They said "on your left." You didn't hear them. Move over.

What you will actually do: Gasp. Grab chest. Question your heart health.

The mutual startle between two trail runners sharing a narrow trail is a foundational community experience. You survive it every time. Our Trail Runner Safety T-Shirt is dedicated to this exact moment and everyone who has lost a few years off their life to it.

The Raccoon at Your Drop Bag

A special mention for the animal that poses no physical threat whatsoever but has destroyed more ultra running race plans than any other creature on this list. The raccoon does not want to hurt you. It wants your gels. It will get your gels. There is nothing you can do.

What you should do: Secure your pack. Do not feed it. It is already in your drop bag.

What you will actually do: Watch it eat your gels. Do nothing. Respect it.

Our Raccoon Safety T-Shirt is for everyone who has arrived at an aid station to find a raccoon has gotten there first. You know who you are.

General Trail Safety Tips for Every Run

Beyond specific animal encounters, smart trail running and hiking practice covers a few universal principles worth repeating.

Always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. Carry a charged phone. Know the basics of your trail, elevation, distance, water sources, potential wildlife. Run with bear spray in genuine mountain lion or bear country; it works. Wear appropriate footwear for the terrain. And if you are running trails at dawn, dusk, or in the dark, accept that you will encounter things that scare you and make peace with that in advance.

The trail running and hiking community is one built on shared suffering, mutual respect for the outdoors, and a genuine sense of humor about all of it. The animals were here before the trails were cut. They are not threats so much as reminders that we are guests in a larger system than the one we normally inhabit.

We think that is worth celebrating, ideally on a well-worn t-shirt after a long run.

Wear Your Trail Wisdom

Our full Safety Series is live now. Each shirt features the real safety advice alongside the real human response, because both things are true, and only one of them is funny.

Browse the full collection:

Stay safe out there. Back away slowly. Do not run.

(You're going to run.)

Sloth & Duck is a premium trail running and outdoor apparel brand built for those who take the dirt seriously but not themselves. Eco-conscious materials, responsible production. Follow us on Instagram @slothandduck and share your miles with #slothandduck.

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