An American runner tells a fight to the death or death with a mountain lion

When a young mountain lion squeezed his wrist against the wrist of an American runner and scratched his face, Travis Kauffman let out a "barbarian scream" and stuck his right foot to the neck of the animal, up to 39 that he eventually wins out. in a fight for survival.

After a few minutes, Kauffmann was recalled Thursday (Friday, local time), "that finally stopped moving, then the jaws opened and I was able to walk up the hill and get out of l & # 39; dodge. "

Kauffman remembers that the cat was strangely silent.

This is the first time that 31-year-old Kauffman publicly tells the February 4 Colorado test that left the dead mountain lion and him with 28 stitches and a reputation of hardness that hides his tense figure .

READ MORE: A runner kills a mountain lion

"I will never be able to live up to this reputation," said Kauffman, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 70 kilograms. "The story is bigger than my puny form."

Kauffman said he was running on a trail in the mountains west of Fort Collins when he heard pine needles rustling behind him. He turned to see the mountain lion about three meters away.

"One of my worst fears has been confirmed," he said.

This cat is rushed. Kauffman raised his hands and shouted, "Shout my barbarian."

The animal tied his teeth to his wrist and they fell off the edge of the trail.

A wave of fear invades him, he says, and he fears that the adult mother of the animal will mingle with the attack to defend his offspring, but no other cat is appeared.

Fear then gave way to the fighting instinct, he said.

Kauffman grabbed a rock with his free hand and hit the cat in the back of his head. He also tried to stab him with twigs, but nothing worked.

"I knew with two very good shots at the back of the head [and] it was not released, I probably had to do something a little more radical, "he said.

"I was able to move my weight and have a foot on his neck" until he succumbed.

Bleeding in his face and wrist, Kauffman took a step back on the trail, where he met other runners who drove him to the hospital.

Officers from Colorado Park and Wildlife recovered the dead mountain lion. They said that their investigation and a necropsy confirmed Kauffman's story.

"Travis is a terrific young man," said Ty Petersburg, head of wildlife management for the agency.

Officers set up cameras and traps in the area for several days after the attack, Petersburg said. They did not see large mountain lions but captured two healthy youngsters. He added that both are in a rehabilitation center and that the agency hopes to release them into the wild.

Kauffman, who describes himself as a pbadionate runner and skier, does not plan to retire from nature.

"I'll go run these trails again," he said, but added, "I'll go with a friend."