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

When a young mountain lion squeezes his jaw on the wrist of an American runner and claw in his face, Travis Kauffman let out a "barbarian scream" and pinned his right foot on his neck. the animal, holding him back until he finally defeated for survival.

After a few minutes, Kauffmann recalled on Thursday (NZ local time), "he finally stopped moving, then the jaws opened and I managed to climb the hill." and avoids chaos. "

Throughout his story, Kauffman remembered that the cat was strangely silent.

This was the first time that 31-year-old Kauffman publicly told the Calvary of February 4 in Colorado that had left the dead mountain lion and him with 28 stitches and a reputation of hardness that conceals its arched frame.

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"I will never be able to live up to this reputation "said Kauffman, who measures 5 feet 10 inches and weighs about 70 kilograms." The story is bigger than my little 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 has struck down. Kauffman raised his hands and shouted, "shouting my barbarian".

The animal clenched his wrist and they fell on the edge of the runway.

A wave of fear invades him, he says. and he feared that the adult mother of the animal would join the attack to defend her offspring, but no other cat appeared.

Fear then gave way to fighting instinct, he said.

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

"I knew that with two very good shots in the back of his head [and] he did not let go, I probably had to do something a little bit more drastically," he said.

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

Kauffman, who was bleeding from his face and wrist, ran back on the trail, where he met other runners who took him to the hospital. Kauffman's story was confirmed by their investigation and an autopsy confirmed Kauffman's story.

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

Officers installed cameras and traps in the area several days after the attack. They did not see large mountain lions but captured two healthy youngsters. He added that the two men were in a reeducation center and that the agency hoped to release them in the wild.

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

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