Instances of attacks are often seen among sick or starving lions, which normally are elusive and tend to avoid humans. The animal in Monday's attack has been taken to a nearby lab for a post-mortem examination to be performed.<doc-sep>The man, who had been running along the West Ridge Trail at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space — about 65 miles north of Denver — told investigators that at one point on Monday, he heard “something behind him on the trail,” and when he turned around to see what it was, the lion lunged at him and bit his face and wrist, the authorities said. But the man, who was not armed with any weapons or tools, was able to “fight and break free from the lion, killing the lion in self-defense,” they said. On Tuesday, officials confirmed that the man had indeed been able to suffocate the mountain lion while defending himself from the attack. “The runner did everything he could to save his life,” Mark Leslie, the manager of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s northeastern region, said in the statement. “In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back, just as this gentleman did.” Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and some trailheads were temporarily closed Monday because of the attack. On Tuesday, the Department of Natural Resources in Larimer County initially bolstered patrols in the park and later announced that it had been closed because of what department officials said was “additional mountain lion activity in the area.” The area could reopen later this week, they added. Wildlife officials said the man who had been attacked was released from the hospital on Tuesday morning and was resting at his home. He had yet to decide if he would speak publicly, they said. The parks and wildlife spokeswoman, Rebecca Ferrell, described him as a “fit and healthy” man in his early 30s but said she could not release any additional details.<doc-sep>FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Travis Kauffman was 6 miles into an uphill run through ice-covered trails when he heard a rustling behind him. Then the mountain lion lunged at him. In the frantic minutes that followed, Kauffman screamed like a “barbarian,” struck the animal with anything he could reach and finally twisted his 150-pound frame atop the lion and choked it to death with his foot. As the lion’s mouth lost its grip of his wrist, Kauffman, 31, prepared to run back down to civilization, where his tale of survival has captivated an international audience since the Feb. 4 attack. On that day, Kauffman planned to do a 12- to 15-mile run from Lory State Park to Horsetooth Rock west of Fort Collins, he said in a prerecorded video interview from Colorado Parks and Wildlife that played during a Thursday news conference. Icy conditions caused him to take a different route, one he had never run and only biked before. That's when he heard pine needles rustling behind him. He turned his head and spotted a young mountain lion about 10 feet from him. "One of my worst fears was confirmed," Kauffman said. The lion crept closer and lunged. Kauffman put his hands up to cover his face and started yelling. "I was just kind of screaming the whole time, doing my barbarian yell," Kauffman said. The young lion latched on to his right wrist. He tried to throw the animal off of him, and the two fell off the trail in what became a thrashing wrestling match, he said. Kauffman was wary of the mountain lion's hind legs thrashing like a rabbit once the animal was on its back — something he's seen his house cat do. He knew he had to get the mountain lion's hind legs pinned to protect his "guts" and groin, so he maneuvered himself on top of the cat to pin its back legs with his leg. Kauffman tried stabbing the animal with sticks, but they kept breaking. He picked up a rock and hit the animal in the head, but it refused to release his wrist. "After I hit it on the head with a rock, it started grinding it's teeth," Kauffman said, adding he could feel one tooth puncture his palm and hit a nerve "over and over again." Kauffman said he realized he would likely have to kill the animal to get away. "There was a point where I wasn't sure if I was going to make it out of there," Kauffman said. With his right wrist still trapped in the lion's mouth and his left leg holding its back legs down, Kauffman positioned his right leg over the animal's throat and stepped on its neck until he suffocated it and it released his wrist. He doesn't remember specific sounds or smells during the attack, but said it was "visually intense," and recalled seeing the cat's claws retract before it swatted at him. "I was surprised by the silence of it all," he said. Kauffman took off back down the trial. He recalled being hyper-aware of his surroundings, his head on a swivel in case more cats appeared. He could tell the mountain lion that attacked him was young, and he was concerned its mother was nearby. On the way down, he passed another trail runner, who accompanied him down the trail. Closer to the trailhead parking lot, Kauffman said the two runners passed a couple who gave him a ride to a hospital. Kauffman said he arrived at the hospital "a bloody mess." He received more than 20 stitches on his face, plus stitches on his wrist and contusions and puncture wounds on his neck — but no broken bones or tendon damage. During an interview with Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Feb. 11, Kauffman said "I'm about a week out and I feel great. I feel like I should go buy a bunch of lottery tickets." The "modern day man versus nature scenario," as Kauffman described it, has captured international attention, but Kauffman hasn't paid much attention to the internet craze. "It is weird getting all this attention," he said. "It's kind of weird to feel kind of famous for an unearned reason." This situation feels more like a "wrong place, wrong time" situation, and not something that should give him celebrity status, Kauffman said. When wildlife officials found the mountain lion on the trail after the attack, it had already been "scavenged" on by other animals, likely other felines. Officials estimated the animal was 35-40 pounds and likely a male. Tissue indicated the animal was hungry, but not starving. The animal suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had hemorrhages in the area near its larynx and trachea. There was no evidence of underlying disease, according to the report, but most of the internal organs had been scavenged. After the attack, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Larimer County natural resources officials closed Horsetooth Mountain Open Space to assess mountain lion activity in the area. Cameras placed on the trail captured two young mountain lions officials believe to be siblings of the lion killed in the Feb. 4 attack. The two young lions were caught and moved to a wildlife rehabilitation facility, and officials plan to later release them back into the wild. During their surveillance of the area, officials did not find any trace or evidence of a larger female lion, Colorado Parks and Wildlife area wildlife manager Ty Petersburg said. This experience won't deter Kauffman from enjoying the outdoorsy activities that he moved to Colorado for five years ago, but he said it will make him a little less confident next time he hits the trail. In the future, Kauffman plans to run with others when he does long or remote runs. Because he wasn't wearing earbuds on his run Feb. 4, he said he was able to hear the mountain lion and recommends that others ditch the music to be more aware of their surroundings. "Be aware that you are sharing that space with wildlife. ... Fully appreciate the sights and sounds of nature," he said.<doc-sep>The Colorado runner who survived a vicious mountain lion attack by wrestling the creature and suffocating it to death is finally speaking out on the life-threatening experience. Travis Kauffman, 31, came forward on Thursday to share how his life flashed before his eyes and he went into fight or flight mode when a mountain lion crept up behind him as he was on a run. The terrifying attack took place on February 4 in the mountains of Fort Collins, Colorado and Kauffman recalled suddenly hearing 'pine needles rustling' and realized a wild lion was sneaking up about 10 feet behind him. 'One of my worst fears was confirmed...I just had my heart sink into my stomach a little bit,' he said during a news conference held by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Thursday. The mountain lion attack made headlines earlier this month, but the man behind the attack remained a mystery until Thursday. Recovering from his ordeal, Travis Kauffman, 31, has come forward as the man who killed a mountain lion that attacked him as he was on a run on February 4 by stepping on its neck and suffocating it to death Kauffman opened up about the traumatizing animal fight on Thursday during a press conference held by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, North East region Travis Kauffman (pictured above following the attack), says the lion locked its jaws on his wrist and was clawing his face and arms during the February 4 attack, leaving his with bloody gashes across his nose and cheek Kauffman pictured above with his girlfriend Annie Bierbouer before speaking about the life-threatening lion attack on Thursday Kauffman, accompanied by his girlfriend Annie Bierbower, spoke on the horrifying experience in a interview with state wildlife officials on Thursday. The experienced runner said he was heading out on a trail at the Horsetooth Mountain Park when the lion appeared and pounced on him. When the creature pinned him down, Kauffman said his 'fear response turned into more of a fight response' and he began to attack the lion. The lion leaped on Kauffman and locked its jaws on his wrists and started clawing his face and arms. 'It was going up towards my face so I threw up my hands to kind of block my face, at which point it grabbed onto my hand and wrist and from there it started to claw at my face and neck. And that’s when kind of my fear response turned into more of a fight response,' Kauffman said. Kauffman recounted how he managed to pin down the lion's back legs with his knee then lodged his foot on the cat's neck and suffocated the animal to death to end the 10 minute fight Kauffman said he's saddened that he killed the animal, but during the attack he wasn't even sure if it was actually dead. In a video shared by Colorado Parks and Wildlife the injuries to his face are visible He retraced his steps in the mountainous trail in Fort Collins with wildlife officials to give a play by play account of the mountain lion attack Tracing his steps at the Horsetooth Mountain park he found the paw marks of mountain lions With a burst of energy Kauffman wrestled the young giant cat to the ground, hit its head with a rock and futilely tried to stab it in the neck with twigs. As they fought each other they ended up rolling onto the south end of the trail. 'From there it was just like a wrestling match,' Kauffman said. Finally, Kauffman managed to pin down the lion's back legs with his knee then lodged his foot on the cat's neck and suffocated the animal to death. 'Because I'm a recent cat owner, I know that the back claws are pretty dangerous when it comes down to an attack. And I was pretty worried about its claws just sinking into my my stomach and groin area,' Kauffman said to radio show KUNC. 'I was able to shift my weight and get a foot on its neck. … I stepped on its neck with my right foot and just slowly after a few minutes I thought I would be getting close and then it would start thrashing again and I had a few more scratches that resulted from those thrashes at that point, and I’d say another couple minutes later it finally stopped moving,' Kauffman recalled. Kauffman managed to walk away from the animal fight with his life, suffering bloody gashes running along his face and arms. Injuries: The Colorado Parks and Wildlife shared these pictures of his bloody gashes and lacerations to his face and neck He said the lion pinned him down at his wrists and started to attack his face and neck Kauffman also suffered scratches on his legs in the attack and required 20 stitches to recover He suffered numerous wounds including lacerations on his nose and cheek and required about 20 stitches to recover. By Thursday he had largely recovered from his ordeal but still sported a scar across his cheek from the attack. Kauffman said he's saddened that he killed the animal, but during the attack he wasn't even sure if it was actually dead. After the animal seemed unresponsive he ran off, worried more predators might be lurking nearby. The whole fight lasted about 10 grueling minutes. 'I was on a crazy fear high,' he said on the fight. Kauffman ended up running three miles to get out of the park. He found another runner and a park visitor who jogged with him to a trailhead. Once there he was given a ride to the hospital and treated for his injuries. Wildlife officials released a statement saying that Kauffman was very lucky to escape the attack with his life. 'We all feel extremely lucky that this attack was made by a young mountain lion on a knowledgeable runner, otherwise we may have been hosting a very different press conference,' Mark Leslie, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife manager, said as per CBS.<doc-sep>
Update:Survival story: Colorado runner's 'worst fears confirmed' when mountain lion attacked Travis Kauffman was 6 miles into an uphill run through ice-covered trails west of Fort Collins when he heard a rustling behind him. Then the mountain lion lunged at him. In the frantic minutes that followed, Kauffman screamed like a “barbarian,” struck the animal with anything he could reach and finally twisted his 150-pound frame atop the lion and choked it to death with his foot. As the lion’s mouth lost its grip of his right wrist, Kauffman, 31, prepared to run back down to civilization, where his tale of survival has captivated an international audience since the Feb. 4 attack. Kauffman, 31, shared his experience at a news conference Thursday afternoon in Fort Collins. He had planned to do a 12- to 15-mile run on Feb. 4, starting in Lory State Park and making his way to Horsetooth Rock, Kauffman explained in a pre-recorded video shown during the news conference. Icy conditions caused him to modify his route. That's when he heard pine needles rustle behind him and he turned his head. He saw the mountain lion, and "one of my worst fears was confirmed," the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Kauffman said. He threw his hands up and started yelling. The animal was 10 feet away but kept approaching. As it got closer to Kauffman, it lunged at him. Kauffman threw up his arms and the lion latched onto his wrist, clawing on his face and legs. "I was just kind of screaming the whole time, doing my barbarian yell," Kauffman said. He tried to throw the animal off of him, but from there, it was a thrashing, wrestling match, he said. As a new cat owner, Kauffman said he knew he couldn't let the animal's hind legs get underneath him, because his "guts" and groin would be injured. So he used his knee to pin down the cat's back legs. He tried to stab it with some nearby sticks, but they were rotten and kept breaking. He picked up a rock and was able to hit it in the back a few times, but that was not effective. Soon he was able to move his right leg close to his wrist, which was in the grip of the lion's teeth, and stepped on its neck until he suffocated it. He ran down the trail on a "fear high," suddenly noticing some possible signs of mountain lions and worrying about more in the area. He ran three miles down the trail and along the way came across another trail runner, Spencer, who was on his way up the trail. They jogged down together and ran into a couple, Rachel and Noah, near a parking lot, and they had a cell phone. One of the three helpers then drove him to the hospital. At the hospital, Kauffman received 25 stitches on his face and three on his wrist, where the lion had latched on. "My face was kind of a bloody mess when I first got there," he said. He had several puncture wounds from the animal's teeth and claws. "About a week out, and I feel great," Kauffman said during the video. "It's a modern day man vs. nature scenario." 12:38 p.m.: The identity of the Fort Collins man who killed a mountain lion while running near Horsetooth Mountain last week has been released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife prior to a press conference Thursday. Travis Kauffman, 31, of Fort Collins received more than 20 facial stitches but suffered no broken bones or tendon damage from a mountain lion attack on Feb. 4, according to CPW. Kauffman is expected to speak publicly for the first time during a press conference Thursday afternoon. According to CPW, Kauffman enjoys many forms of outdoor recreation, including mountain biking, skiing and trail running. He had never run the route he was on when attacked last week, but he had biked it previously. Kauffman is from Mountain Home, Arkansas but has lived in Fort Collins for five years, according to CPW. He currently lives with his girlfriend, Annie Bierbouer. Original: The Colorado runner who killed a mountain lion by suffocating it after the animal attacked him on a Fort Collins trail last week is set to speak publicly for the first time Thursday afternoon.