Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher had a lucky escape when she came face to face with a mountain lion which has been terrifying residents in the Hollywood Hills in recent weeks.

 The actress was out jogging early one morning last week in the hills by her Los Angeles home, when she was aware something or somebody was behind her.

 She says, "Some leaves just blew something and I turned and looked... and it was a mountain lion.

 "I kept jogging and this path, you go down and you have to turn round and come back... so I'm thinking, `Well now the mountain lion is up and angry,' and I'm completely by myself up there.

 "So I get to the end (of the path) and it backs up into these kind of
mansions with these huge walls, and I'm literally standing there going, `Hello... can anyone hear me over there.'"

 But no one heard Hatcher's cries for help and she had to scale a steep hill to get onto Laurel Canyon.

 Then, when she eventually got back home, she turned on the news and discovered the authorities are on the hunt for the killer beast.

 She adds, "Apparently he's still out because I just heard about him on the news."