Oh I'm not worried about bites or how venomous/poisonous they are, I'm aware that there's very few deadly spiders in the world and most are an irritation at most. I'm just arachnophobic and prefer to live where they've smaller and less common.

Maybe it's just because I was raised where bears/wolves/cougars were around and was taught from a young age how to behave in order to avoid/warn them and minimize contact. I've been hiking in the mountains nearly every summer for the past 20 some years, and the only predators I've encountered were a couple black bears that I came up on after a bend in the trail, my brother and I slowly backed away while talking loudly and they took off up the hillside. As far as bears go you only really have to worry about grizzlies and polar bears, and most of the time grizzlies will peace out when they here you coming.

With your example of being stalked at night by a cat, if you can avoid it you shouldn't hike during dawn/dusk or when it's dark out when they're at their most active. And if you can't avoid it, a group is a necessity since you do not want to be hiking alone in the mountains even under the best conditions. Hiking at night in the mountains is inadvisable anyway, even ignoring the cougar factor

The funny part is that it's not just the predators you need to be careful about, people underestimate herbivores like moose, elk, bison, even the smaller ones like deer and the various mountain sheep's and goats. Tourists think they're just big friendly cows and don't realize they're extremely protective of their young and not afraid to defend themselves.

Imo it's all about being prepared and knowing how to behave when visiting their homes. Don't provoke them, politely let them know you're around, clean up after yourself, and your problems with the wildlife should be few and far between. Just don't try to get closer to the bears for a good picture like I've seen some people try to do and you'll be fine