we visited Whistler, in BC--i think it was named after the marmots. plenty of bears around there, too, although i was glad not to encounter any.
the thing to get would be a fishing pole from which to dangle a whistling marmot, far out in front of you. then the bear would attack the marmot, instead of the hiker.
or, maybe i could get some of those whistling footballs. when the bear attacked, i could throw the football over the bear's head, and he would turn around and chase the football. that should work!
what did they suggest to do if confronted by a mountain lion? other than beating at it with a stick (or, if you're a hunter, shooting it), i'm not sure what your're supposed to do.
when we visited vancouver island, several years ago, the ml's were attacking people in the towns.
a canadian told us that the canadian govt had re-located ml's to vancouver island, but there wasn't enough food for them there, so the ml's began to prey on people!
LOL! When confronted by a mountain lion while mountain biking, you stop, get off your bike and raise it above your head. While doing this, you make low, loud yells. This supposedly makes you look too big for the lion and not afraid of him, so the lion "should" back off. As I said, I have heard of when it worked and when it didn't. I heard about one guy who tried to outrun one on his bike and the lion was on him before he could even get started. They tell you to never turn your back on the lion. Now, if you are hiking, I am pretty sure you try to get a big stick and wave it above your head, yell and pray (unofficially, I think a person would pee their pants as well). My sister lived in the mountains at about 9000 ft elevation. They had a big dog pen and of course it had to have a roof on it, or you just pretty much have a nice appetizer for the lions.
The most exotic animal I ever saw out there was a bobcat. It was in Estes Park on a private outdoor shooting range, no less! It was beautiful.