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[foolcow]

I would think that an animal like a cougar should be a threat to my dwarves which go outside.  I have a cougar on my current map, and it will just run away whenever an unarmed dwarf goes near it.

Is this normal behavior, or a bug?  Do all large carnivorous animals run away from dwarves?

[Skorpion]

It's biding it's time. I have lost three dwarves to cougars on my current map. Maybe four, as my butcher got killed by SOMETHING in the first 5 minutes after he wandered offscreen to go hunting, but that could have been a camel.

Hell, the only thing more lethal (other than goblins) is an artifact iron axe that I have nicknamed 'the crippler' after killing a champion and multiple guards in sparring accidents, and is suspected of having broken over 15 spines in the military and fortress guard.
Mind, cave-in accidents are also more lethal if you combine the mining and deconstruction accidents.

[Aspgren]

Uh ...

I had a cougar. I kept close tabs on it so it wouldn't approach my fortress.. and then I told my strongest dorf to go and hunt the bastard because he kept looking at the children funny.

So he went and fought it and it tore into him and spit out huge chunks. Broke both his arms and a leg and ran. The dwarf was still standing, still limping after it as it ran off-screen... he spent almost two years in bed.

Well he got better and the cougar returned, he hunted it and BAM cut it in two and flung it up a tree. Pretty cool.

...

So did the cougar fight in self defense? Maybe. Maybe not. I know for a fact that a GIANT cougar will attack any dwarf it sees. One of my parties were attacked the moment they started and it was pure luck that saved them. The giant tore the head off one dwarf while another lodged his pickaxe in the beast's throat .. it went down and the fight was over.
Could have been the shortest game ever... so.. watch out.

[Albedo]

Cougars are dangerous, no doubt, but - and I could be wrong - I think the program is smarter than we give it credit for.  If the animal sees something making a beeline towards it, it will back off - it wants to do the hunting, not the other way around.

I sent my small squad of 1st immigrant trainees out in chain armor with shields and it was the same thing - a polite but firm refusal of the challenge.  Then I sent my legendary miner (unbelievable agility) suit up in leather only with a spear and wooden shield (~much~ lighter, if some less protection) and he ran the bugger down, took a bad wound but took it right out.  Cougar is nice leather.

[Untelligent]

That MIGHT be because animals are more afraid of military than civilians, not more afraid of something chasing it than something it's chasing.

[Time Kitten]

Why give your miners spears, when they already have picks?  A weapon just as powerful that they are already legendary in.

[Albedo]

A) picks do less damage (by something like 70 vs 100 iirc),
B) it was time for them to train in a weapon, and with their stats I figured they could wrestle a spear out of about anything.

But most importantly...

B) a miner is a civilian.  No posting to a location, no setting on "harrass the wildlife", no issuing armor. 

That answer your question? 

[zchris13]

Hunting takes priority over mining, I think.  So if you set him to unarmed, hunting and mining, he will run around after anything that isn't a dwarf.

But like, duh.