Video: Colorado Trail Runner Who Strangled Attacking Mountain Lion Shares Story
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.15.19
This story of the Colorado trail runner who was able to fight off an attacking mountain lion is insane! And the man involved in the incident spoke to national news recently to tell his side of the story.
In an adrenaline fueled act of self-defense, Travis Kauffman, 31, managed to get the upper hand and strangle the lion after the two had engaged in a “wrestling match” on the West Ridge Trial on Horsetooth Mountain.
“It grabbed on to my hand and wrist and from there it started to claw at my face and neck,” Travis recalled.
At that point, he entered fight or flight mode, and delivered “a few blows” to the back of the cat’s head with a rock. Still, the lion would not let go of its grip on Travis’ right hand.
“I had no choice but to strangle it,” Kauffman said.
Listen as Travis gives a dramatic, even somewhat humorous description of what happened:
The question on everybody’s mind was whether or not he would ever consider run trails again in that area after this experience – Personally, I wanted to know if he was listening to Ted Nugent’s song ‘Stranglehold’ during his run..
Kauffman did confidently say, however, “I will run those trails again. I will be running with a buddy though,” he said.
And might we suggest a knife too?
