A young mountain lion strangled last month by a Colorado jog whose animal was attacked was a 4-month-old orphan, revealed wildlife managers.
According to an autopsy, the young man would have weighed about 35 or 40 pounds. The inexperienced hunter was perhaps looking for desperate prey when he threw himself on Travis Kauffman, 31, on a scenic trail to Fort Collins.
The body of the mountain lion, which had been partially eaten, probably by its two orphaned siblings, was found on February 4, the day of the attack.
According to the necropsy conducted by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarians, the authorities said the corpse was a "kitten", although the young mountain lions are usually called pups.
"Mountain lions are solitary animals that only congregate for breeding," Colorado Clay and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay told Clay on Friday. "We had no record of an adult female near the scene location that day or in the days following. That's one of the reasons we think these kittens have been orphaned. "Mountain lions are raised only by their mothers.
Officials do not know what happened to the mother, but mountain lions are often killed by cars. The two siblings were captured and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center, Colorado reported. They will eventually be released into the wild.
The findings of the necropsy corroborated Kauffman's story that he had choked the lion cub, hit him in the head with a rock, then stepped on his throat to kill him.
Related: Travis Kauffman, jogger who killed Mountain Lion
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Travis Kauffman, the jogger who killed the mountain lion
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FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail racer Travis Kauffman, 31, explains the size of the mountain lion at the press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott Hotel. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. February 14, 2019. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail racer Travis Kauffman is at a press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail runner Travis Kauffman, right, and his girlfriend Annie Bierbower attend the press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail runner Travis Kauffman, right, and his girlfriend Annie Bierbower attend the press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail racer Travis Kauffman is at a press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail runner Travis Kauffman, right, and his girlfriend Annie Bierbower attend the press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FORT COLLINS, CO – FEBRUARY 14: Trail runner Travis Kauffman, right, and his girlfriend Annie Bierbower attend the press conference at the Fort Collins Marriott. February 14, 2019. Kauffman survived a mountain lion attack and then killed the animal with his bare hands. Kauffman received more than 20 stitches on his face and suffered bruising and perforating wounds to his neck and legs that did not require stitches. (Photo by Hyoung Chang / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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Kauffman, who needed 28 stitches after the attack, said that the cat had thrown at him, tripped him, had blocked his jaw on his wrist and had started to scratch his face. As the jogger struggled against the cougar, he was afraid the mother would rush out of the woods to join his cub.
The findings of the necropsy "supported the description of the events given by the victim," according to the state report, Colorado said. "The cause of death was determined to be multifactorial, including blunt trauma and strangulation."
The mountain lion was clearly "hungry but not hungry", in fair condition, with no sign of disease, and his rabies test was negative, according to the report.
Wildlife officials said that even though the cougar was young, Kauffman was right to protect himself from serious injury or even death. There was dried blood in the feet of the mountain lion, but officials did not reveal whether it was Kauffman, the Coloradoan reported.
"The runner did everything in his power to save his life. In case of a lion attack, you must do everything in your power to fight back, as did this gentleman, "Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Northeast Wildlife Manager.
Three people have been killed by mountain lions in Colorado since 1990.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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