If there’s a kind of story I will always gravitate towards, it’s people doing The Revenant shit. When regular people are thrust into doing weird mountain person survival stuff in their daily life, that’s what I’m about. So you can imagine my surprise at seeing today’s story about a jogger who ended up having to kill a mountain lion with his bare hands when the animal attacked – and seriously wounded – him.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the man was going for a run on a trail in the wilderness area near Fort Collins when the juvenile mountain lion attacked him, his movements having apparently triggered the animal’s survival instincts.
The mountain lion inflicted facial cuts, wrist injuries and puncture wounds to the man’s arms, legs and back before he managed to fight it off. He told officials that he killed the animal by suffocating it, and investigators later verified that claim.
After additional investigation, including examination of the lion, we have confirmed the victim’s account that he was able to suffocate the animal while defending himself from the attack.
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) February 5, 2019
The man then successfully hiked out of the area and drove himself to hospital to treat his wounds.
Parks and wildlife officials said the man isn’t sure whether he wants to identify himself or speak to media. They also confirmed the animal was less than a year old and did not test positive for rabies. So that’s nice.
We can also confirm the lion in this case was less than a year old, and we may be able to determine age a bit more tightly in the final reports. The cat also tested negative for rabies, which is very welcome news.
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) February 5, 2019
“The runner did everything he could to save his life,” said Mark Leslie, a rep for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did.”
Hmm. I am unsure if I would be able to, despite my wild fantasies of being an extremely powerful and talented outdoorsman. But I take your advice on notice, Mr Leslie.
Mountain lion attacks are rare in the United States. Less than a dozen people have been killed in more than a century by the big cats – and when it does happen, it is usually the doing of a sick or starving lion.
