A Very Resourceful Woman Scared Off a Cougar by Blasting Metallica

Metallica's music is good for a lot of things, most obviously for rocking out either wearing headphones or at an arena with thousands of other metalheads. Their songs have had all kinds of purposes, like teaching kids the ABCs via an official children's book (good), and torturing prisoners in Guantanamo Bay (not good). But this week, in a lifesaving measure, a Canadian woman used it to ward off an actual cougar, which is very good indeed.

According to Kelowna Now, Vancouver Island resident Dee Gallant "felt something watching her" when she was out walking her dog. She then noticed a cougar stalking them, tried to shoo it away by politely reasoning with it. When that failed, she called it "a bad kitty." Noticing the large feline was undeterred by her escalating tactics she decided to go for the big guns: playing Metallica's 1991 track "Don't Tread On Me." She tells the publication, "I thought it was the noisiest thing on my phone that would probably scare it, that was also the message I wanted to convey to the cougar." Thankfully it worked as she adds, “As soon as the first notes blared out it ran into the bus."

There is a possibility the cougar may have just preferred a different cut off The Black Album like "Enter Sandman" or something. In a 2012 interview with Playboy, even Lars Urlich ripped on "Don't Tread On Me," calling it "not one of my favorite songs musically." Either way, it's good that Gallant is safe and has plans to "contact them someday and tell James Hetfield that he saved my life.” Watch her cell phone video of the cougar below and listen to the track below that.