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Runner recounts killing mountain lion in ‘fight for survival’
LOS ANGELES, Feb 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Colorado trail runner who
survived a mountain lion attack by suffocating the animal said on Thursday
that the encounter that has made him the stuff of legend was “a fight for
survival.”
“One of the thoughts that I was having was: ‘Well this would be a pretty
crappy way to die’,” Travis Kauffman told reporters in his first public
comments about the February 4 attack.
“It very much turned into just a full-on fight for survival,” added the
31-year-old who had to have more than two dozen stitches to close wounds on
his cheeks and nose.
Kauffman said he had gone out for a run when he was ambushed by the 80-
pound (36-kilogram) cat.
“I heard some pine needles rustling behind me and I stopped and turned,”
he recalled.
Kauffman, who is of slight build, said he felt his heart sink as he
processed the situation and raised his hands and began screaming to try and
scare the animal as it rushed toward him.
“Unfortunately, it kept running and then it eventually just lunged at me
and … its jaws locked into my hand and wrist,” he said.
Kauffman said that as he and the mountain lion were locked in battle, they
tumbled down a trail and he managed to get the upper hand as the cat ended up
on its back.
He said he was able to pin the animal’s hind legs with his feet and hit it
with a rock over the head before stepping on its neck and suffocating it.
“I stepped on its neck with my right foot and just slowly after a few
minutes I thought I would be getting close and then it would start thrashing
again,” he said. “And I had a few more scratches that resulted from those
thrashes at that point, and I’d say another couple minutes later it finally
stopped moving.”
– Praise for quick thinking –
The whole episode lasted about 10 minutes, after which Kauffman said he ran
off, terrified that other mountain lions may be lurking about.
He said he eventually linked up with another runner and some hikers who
gave him water and drove him to a hospital.
Kauffman said while the adrenaline rush and survival instinct helped him
overcome the encounter, the fact that he chose not to use his earphones to
listen to music that day also played a part.
“For the most part, I don’t feel any residual trauma,” he told KUNC radio.
“I tend to move forward, this is my personality.”
Authorities have praised his quick-thinking, saying he handled the
situation just right.
“We all feel extremely lucky that this attack was made by a young mountain
lion on a knowledgeable runner, otherwise we may have been hosting a very
different press conference,” said Mark Leslie, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife
manager. “These animals are ambush predators, and are trained to take quick
and lethal action whenever possible.”
BSS/AFP/RY/10:00 hrs