Yes, you read that correctly.
One runner was un-phased while on a run and was attacked by an 80-pound mountain lion.
The anonymous jogger calmly and collectively handled the cougar — by suffocating it with his bare hands.
The unnamed man was jogging his way down a trail run on the West Ridge Trail at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space in Fort Collins, when he heard odd noises coming from behind him — according to a statement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW.)
He was then confronted by a mountain lion after spinning around to see what was making the noise.
The mountain lion then pounced on him, biting his face and wrist.
And as most people would have most likely been paralyzed with fear — the mystery jogger was not intimidated by the beast — fighting with it before he murdered the lion.
The manager for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region, Mark Leslie, said in a statement the following:
“The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did.”
The HikingGuy recommends that if you do see a mountain lion to absolutely do not run or turn your back to it.
This is because the aforementioned are all signals that you are prey.
Mountain lions are said to eat about 10 pounds of meat a day and only meat — and if you do come upon the large cat, you want to make sure you show them how you are not prey and you are not scared (even if you are.)
The site also shares how you cannot outrun a mountain lion as they can run up to 50mph.
So what should you do in an event where you are met with a big cat?
The site recommends you do the following:
- Put your hands in the air, make noise, and act bigger than you are.
- If you have trekking poles, raise them up too and get ready to use them if it approaches you.
- If you have an air horn, give that some blasts.
- If you have bear spray, get ready to let it loose if the mountain lion approaches. It works on mountain lions too.
- Wave sticks, wave your pack, whatever you can do to look scary.
- Don’t antagonize it. Some people say not to look it in the eye, but there’s nothing empirical about that advice. Just don’t come at it, corner it, or antagonize it in any way.
And while I don’t see “suffocation” on the list, like Leslie had mentioned — whateve
But what was even less surprising, was how the brave runner sustained some serious injuries during the attack but was able to get himself to a hospital to be treated as they were non-life threatening.
The area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Ty Petersburg, said in a statement how despite the incident — cougar attacks on humans are rare and the animal’s “hunting instincts were triggered by the runner.”
He said: “This could have had a very different outcome.”
The CPW shared how the mountain lion was a young male and a necropsy had been performed.
The agency posted to Twitter, saying:
“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.”
“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.”
The Department of Natural Resources in Larimer County has said they have stepped up patrols at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space as a result of the attack.
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