The heartbreaking story of the man who strangled and killed a cougar to save his life

February 15, 2019

A man saved his life after fighting and killing a cougar that attacked him while he was driving down a road in Denver, Colorado.

A week ago, Travis Kauffman choked a cougar when he attacked while running in Colorado. The victim told how He killed the animal by walking on the throat during a fight in perpetuity.

Kauffman spoke for the first time in public since the incident that left him with visible injuries on the neck and face. The man said that the terrible moment lasted only three minutes but that he was on the verge of death.

Kauffman stated that he was running at Horsetooth Mountain, about 65 miles northwest of Denver, when He heard the whispering pines and turned his head to face a young cougar.

"I felt like seeing a mountain lion"He told the media." The boy said that he had raised his arms and screamed at the cougar, but the animal rushed at him and bit him on the right wrist and scratched his face.

His attempts to stop the predator's attack with sticks and hit him on the head with a stone were futile.
In a moment, He was able to grab the cougar and put his foot on his neck until he was out of breath. While he was fighting with the animal, he was alarmed that another cougar was coming to join the fight.

According to National Federation of Wildlife, Mountain lions, also known as pumas or panthers, are native to America and their range extends from the Canadian Yukon to the tip of South America.

However, Cougar attacks on humans are rare. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife website has reported fewer than 20 deaths in North America in the last 100 years.

There are between 4,500 and 5,500 mountain lions in Colorado, and since 1990, the state has seen 16 people injured and 3 others killed by mountain lions attacks, reported the agency.

Kauffman, who measures 1.77 meters and weighs about 70 pounds, said he knew nothing about martial arts nor training in the fight. He acted exclusively with adrenaline. "The decisions were instinctive," he added.

The wounds on his face, neck, wrist and legs required more than 20 stitches. KAuffman admitted that he had been lucky enough to survive the attack without any permanent injury.