Mountain lion killed by Colorado runner was only 35 to 40 lbs

Travis Kauffman is the runner who who was attacked by a young male mountain lion while running on trails in Colorado on February 4. Since the attack, reports have corroborated the runner’s story, but on February 28, the necropsy report by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarians suggested that the lion wasn’t fully grown. USA Today reports, “Officials estimated the animal’s live weight was 35 to 40 pounds. The report listed the animal in “fair condition” with no diseases noted.” The report estimated the lion to be between three and four months old. 

RELATED: Mountain lion runner tells press conference how he killed the cat

On the day of the attack, Kauffman, who is 5’10” and weighs 155 pounds, was only about a quarter of a mile into a 12- to 15-mile run on a service road called Towers when he heard the rustle of pine needles behind him, and turned to see the mountain lion, which lunged at him. As he put his hands up to protect his face, the cat latched onto his right wrist (which is still bandaged in the CPW video), and started clawing at his face. Yelling loudly and trying to shake it off him, Kauffman endured an approximately 10-minute wrestling match with the animal, trying to stab it with sticks that kept breaking, then trying to hit its head with a rock. He finally got on top of the cat, pinning its back legs with his left knee and getting his right knee on the cat’s neck, suffocating it. Only then did it release its grip on his wrist.

RELATED: Trail runner kills mountain lion in self-defense in Colorado

Kauffman received 26 stitches to his face (mainly his left cheek) and three stitches to the wound on his wrist. He also sustained several puncture wounds from the mountain lion’s teeth and claws. In the CPW video, Kauffman says he feared for his life during the attack, but “About a week out, I feel great. Things are healing up really nicely.” He also speculates that his story sounds sensational because we so rarely hear such dramatic “man vs. nature” stories. He says if he had been running with earbuds, he might not have heard the animal approaching, or been able to turn his head early enough to defend himself as well as he did. He said he plans to continue running the trails, but with a buddy.