A mountain lion strangled by a Colorado man was an orphaned cougar

DENVER: The mountain lion strangled by a Colorado man after attacking him on a jogging track last month was a cub weighing no more than 18 kg and probably orphaned but not hungry, officials said. Wildlife, Friday, March 1

The encounter between the young predator and Travis Kauffman made headlines in the international press when authorities revealed that the 31-year-old had not only survived a mountain lion attack, but choked the cat, hitting him in the throat. Announcement

An autopsy – the animal equivalent of an autopsy – showed that the cougar was four to five months old, based on the condition of his teeth, and the results confirmed the story of Kauffman's fight, said Colorado Parks and Wildlife in a

"It was determined that the cause of death was blunt trauma and strangulation," said the agency.

READ: Colorado jogger defends itself and kills a mountain lion on a rural trail

Kauffman recounted his rowing story at a press conference last week. He stated that on February 4, he was jogging on the open space Horsetooth Mountain, about 105 km northwest of Denver, when he heard the rustling of the pine needles and sneezed. returned to see a cougar look down on him.

"I was stunned to see a mountain lion," he told reporters.

The environmental consultant said that he had raised his arms and screamed, but that the cougar jumped on himself, squeezing his jaw on his right wrist and slicing his face and neck with the claws

. tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the cat by hitting him with a stone and stabbing him with sticks. In the end, he managed to reach the cat and put his foot on his throat until he stopped beating.

Kauffman suffered multiple lacerations but no permanent injury. He could not be contacted for a comment on Friday.

READ: Colorado man strangling mountain lion describes fight for life or death

Veterinarians who performed the autopsy could not determine bad or size Accurate of the dead cat, because of others the animals fed on the carcbad at the moment when the rangers reached it. The examiners badumed that the cougar was probably a male weighing between 16 and 18 kg, the authorities said.

Parks and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay told Reuters that mountain lions stayed with their mother for 12 to 18 months before hitting

Cats were taken to a health center. Animal rehab to give them a better chance of survival when they will be released back into the wild at some point, Clay says.