How to survive a mountain lion attack
Travis Kauffman has revealed the secrets behind encounter that left the cat dead and him with 28 stitches
![A runner has choked a mountain lion to death](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6VLmKcaKAQgmhZM3oUrSZL-415-80.jpg)
A Colorado trail runner who survived a mountain lion attack by suffocating the animal has told of his narrow escape.
“One of the thoughts that I was having was: ‘Well this would be a pretty crappy way to die’,” Travis Kauffman told the media in his first public comments about the 4 February attack.
“It very much turned into just a full-on fight for survival,” added the 31-year-old “who had to have more than two dozen stitches to close wounds on his cheeks and nose”, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I will never be able to live up to the reputation,” said Kauffman, who stands 5ft 10in (1.5 metres) and weighs about 150lb (70kg). “The story is bigger than my puny form.”
The encounter began when Kauffman was out running on a trail in Colorado and he heard a rustling behind him.
“One of my worst fears was confirmed,” he said, as he turned to see the mountain lion about 10ft (three metres) away.
He said he felt his heart sank “as he processed the situation and raised his hands and began screaming to try and scare the animal as it rushed toward him”, says The Guardian.
“Unfortunately, it kept running and then it eventually just lunged at me and... its jaws locked into my hand and wrist,” he said.
Kauffman said that as he and the mountain lion were locked in battle, “they tumbled down a trail and he managed to get the upper hand as the cat ended up on its back”, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Kauffman grabbed a rock with his free hand and beat the cat on the back of the head. He also tried stabbing it with twigs, but nothing worked.
“I knew with two pretty good blows to the back of the head (and) it didn’t release, that I was probably going to have to do something a little more drastic,” he said. “I was able to kind of shift my weight and get a foot on its neck” until it succumbed.
He said he was able to pin the animal’s hind legs with his feet and hit it with a rock over the head before stepping on its neck and suffocating it.
Bleeding from his face and wrist, “he jogged back down the trail, where he met other runners who got him to a hospital”, reports The Guardian.
US authorities have revealed that Kauffman’s actions were in line with textbook recommendations when faced with the unusual situation. The US National Park Service while highlighting the rarity of what occurred said that people were advised not to play dead. Rather, if attacked, people should protect their necks and fight back using their hands and anything that could be used as a weapon.
Not everyone is as lucky as Kauffman though. Last year state authorities in Seattle revealed that a mountain biker who was killed by a mountain lion had also done everything right in the situation.
“They did everything they were supposed to do,” Sergeant Ryan Abbott of King county sheriff’s department said. “But something was wrong with this cougar.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Iwao Hakamada: Japan's record-breaking death row prisoner
Under the Radar Former boxer spent 46 years condemned to execution but his retrial could clear his name
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How strawberries are funding crime in Sweden
Under the Radar Police say illegal fruit sales turn over 'billions' of kronor a year for gangsters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
France's 'swinger' capital rocked by fortune teller scandal
Under the Radar Mayor charged with corruption for 'lavishing' taxpayers' money on clairvoyant who 'impersonated' his dead father
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump hush money trial: what has the jury heard?
Today's Big Question Former loyal fixer Michael Cohen proves star witness for prosecution, but Stormy Daniels's graphic testimony could offer grounds for appeal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Weinstein's appeal: a blow to #MeToo
Talking Point Is 'shocking' reversal of symbolic conviction a sign of weakening movement?
By The Week UK Published
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published