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>A trail runner in Colorado frantically fought off and killed a mountain lion after it attacked him from behind, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) confirmed in a press release.
>The man, whose identity has not been released, suffered “serious, but non-life threatening injuries as a result of the attack,” according to CPW. Following an examination of the animal, authorities confirmed the man suffocated the mountain lion while defending himself. After the incident, wildlife officers collected the juvenile animal’s body near several of the man’s possessions on the trail and performed a necropsy, CPW said.
>“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” said Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “This could have had a very different outcome.”
>The incident happened Monday outside Fort Collins, Colo., along the West Ridge Trail at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. The victim told authorities he was running on the trail and heard a sound behind him. When he turned to investigate, he said, the lion “lunged” at him and immediately began biting his face and wrists.
>The runner broke free, killed the mountain lion, and got himself to a local hospital. Despite the severity of the attack, CPW officials note that Colorado has seen only 16 injuries and three fatalities from mountain lion attacks since 1990.
>Juvenile
