WATCH: Man who killed attacking mountain lion shares story

The man who claims to have killed a mountain lion after it attacked him on a trail near Fort Collins is finally speaking to the public about the incident.

Thursday, the runner was identified as 31-year-old Travis Kauffman of Fort Collins.

Kauffman says he suffocated the juvenile mountain lion before hiking out of the area after last Monday’s attack. He suffered facial cuts, wrist injuries and puncture wounds to his arms, legs, and back. Many of these injuries required stitches.

The incident happened around noon on February 4th. Officials were able to get on the scene soon after.

They were able to locate the dead mountain lion and took it off the field. CPW also shut down the park in order to investigate the incident.

On the morning of February 8th, Colorado Parks and wildlife set traps in order to try and catch more mountain lions that could potentially be from the same pack.

They say a similar juvenile mountain lion was caught on February 9th and another was caught on the 10th. However, they were not able to confirm whether they were related to the same lion Kauffman killed.

Watch the news conference below as Travis explains his experience and what advice he gives other hikers.

Before moving to Colorado, Travis was a resident of Mountain Home, Arkansas. He came to the Fort Collins area four years ago to seek out a more outdoor lifestyle.

Upon moving, he has participated in several outdoor activities including, hiking, skiing, and mountain biking. Travis said he got into trail running about a year ago, aiming to run about five miles at the end of a workday.

On the afternoon of his attack, Travis started running a 12 to 15 mile run in Lory State Park. Several miles into his trek, Travis describes hearing pine needles rustling around nearby.

When he turned to look, he was face-to-face with a young mountain lion.

“One of my worst fears was confirmed. I just kind of had my heart sink into my stomach a bit and I threw my hands up and started yelling,” said Kaufman. “When I first turned around, the cat was probably 10-feet away from me and it just kept approaching.”

Travis said the mountain lion then latched onto his wrist and began clawing at his face and legs. When the mountain lion would not give up, Kauffman was forced to throw the animal to the ground.

The animal then reattached to Travis’ wrist as the two continued to wrestle. Travis said he was finally able to use his back knee to pin the animal down. At this point, Travis began picking up objects near him in order to try and stop it.

He grabbed everything from sticks to rock and was able to hit the mountain lion on the back of the head with a rock several times. However, it did not do much damage.

Finally, Travis positioned his body over the cat, being able to step on its neck in order to suffocate it. When the animal was finally out of breath, Travis says that’s when it finally let go of his wrist.

If you are ever confronted by a mountain lion, Colorado Parks & Wildlife offers these tips:

Previous Story (Associated Press)

Wildlife officials say a man who fought off a young mountain lion on a northern Colorado trail killed the animal by suffocating it.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the man was running alone near Fort Collins when the lion attacked him from behind after the movement apparently triggered its hunting instincts.

The runner, whose name hasn’t been released, fought off the cougar, hiked out of the area after Monday’s attack and drove himself to a hospital. He suffered facial cuts, wrist injuries and puncture wounds to his arms, legs, and back.

On Tuesday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the investigation confirmed the man’s account that he suffocated the animal.

Mountain lions attacks are rare. Sixteen people have been injured and three killed by mountain lions in Colorado since 1990.