Two bicyclists in Orange County were out at Whiting Ranch when their ride turned into a heart-pounding standoff with a mountain lion on Monday.

"We came around a turn and the mountain lion was actually on the trail," said Elizabeth Granados, one of the mountain bikers. "We kind of encountered each other. Both of us got startled."

The young mountain lion crept down from the hillside and inched closer. The two bicyclists used their bikes as shields and slowly backed away while keeping the animal in sight.

"Initially, I figured, 'Hey, it's up behind the tree and it's going to go away,'" Granados said. "It didn't. It kept coming towards us. It followed us for a good four minutes."

The tense standoff continued until the mountain lion suddenly lunged. Believing that she was going to die, Gra

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