Mountain Lions:

 It was recently reported that a mountain lion had "attacked" a man who was relaxing in his hot tub. As I opened the entire article and read down it revealed that the lion had merely scratched the mans head. He did not require medical attention and treated himself. That doesn't sound to me like a serious attack. The man and his wife were in the hot tub and the lion snuck up on them and pawed his head. It must have appeared to the lion as something to play with. In a serious attack the lion would have grabbed his head and hauled him out of the hot tub.

They lived remote - as we do - and in living remote you never let your guard down. The wife shined a flashlight at the lion and it ran away. Authorities are now hunting for the lion. Lions have a large range where they roam so hopefully they won't find the lion and it won't lose its life for merely letting its curiosity cause it to investigate what it thought was something to play with.  

I read the things to do when confronted by a lion in the Department of Wildlife publication. While good advice we could add some extra hints. Lions are naturally fearful of humans. Hmmm, maybe that makes them smarter than some humans. If they perceive a fight where they could get injured they will likely look for a way to flee. An injured lion could have its ability to hunt and kill to eat could be serious for them to survive. 

Deer do not challenge or try and fight a lion, they run from them.  Therefore a person who stands their ground or slowly backs up while facing a lion indicates someone willing to fight. Lions attack from the back as they are accustom to running down their prey from the back. I seriously doubt that opening your coat to look big impresses a lion - but looking like you will fight would impress a lion. 

Wild animals are very astute at reading your intentions. If you are bluffing the lion very well may perceive that and attack anyway. To run will trigger the lions prey drive and they are much faster than humans. It will chase you down quickly. I would rather fight than be chased down by a lion and die out of breath. It is best to avoid contact in the first place but if confronted I'll chose to fight.