Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

3 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

4 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

4 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

4 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

4 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

4 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

5 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Trail Runner Recounts Life-or-Death Fight With Mountain Lion
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 15, 2019

Share

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — When a young mountain lion clamped its jaws onto Travis Kauffman’s wrist and clawed at his face, he screamed a “barbarian yell,” jammed his foot onto the animal’s neck and held it there until the cat quit thrashing and died.
After a couple of minutes, Kauffmann recalled Thursday, “it finally stopped moving and then the jaws opened and I was able to kind of scramble back up the hill and get the heck out of Dodge.”

“I will never be able to live up to the reputation. The story is bigger than my puny form.” — Travis Kauffman
Through it all, the 31-year-old trail runner said, the cat remained eerily silent.
It was the first time Kauffman publicly recounted the Feb. 4 ordeal that left him with 28 stitches and a reputation for toughness and bravery that overshadows his wiry frame.
“I will never be able to live up to the reputation,” said Kauffman, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs about 155 pounds. “The story is bigger than my puny form.”
Kauffman said he was running a trail in the mountains west of Fort Collins, Colorado, when he heard pine needles rustle behind him. He turned to see the mountain lion about 10 feet away.
“One of my worst fears was confirmed,” he said.
That cat lunged, and Kauffman raised his hands and screamed.

Fear Gave Way to the Fighting Instinct

The animal locked its teeth onto his wrist and they tumbled off the side of the trail.

“I knew with two pretty good blows to the back of the head (and) it didn’t release, that I was probably going to have to do something a little more drastic. I was able to kind of shift my weight and get a foot on its neck.” — Travis Kauffman
A wave of fear rolled over him, he said, and he worried that the animal’s full-grown mother would join the attack to defend her offspring. But no other cat appeared.
Fear then gave way to the fighting instinct, he said.
Kauffman grabbed a rock with his free hand and beat the cat on the back of the head. He also tried stabbing it with twigs, but nothing worked.
“I knew with two pretty good blows to the back of the head (and) it didn’t release, that I was probably going to have to do something a little more drastic,” he said. “I was able to kind of shift my weight and get a foot on its neck” until it succumbed.
Bleeding from his face and wrist, he jogged back down the trail, where he met other runners who got him to a hospital.
“I was just thankful that he had his eyes and his fingers and all his parts, and it didn’t look as bad as I maybe would have thought that it could,” said his girlfriend, Annie Bierbower.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers retrieved the dead cat. They said their investigation and a necropsy confirmed Kauffman’s account.

Adult Male Mountain Lions Average About 150 Pounds

“Travis is a pretty amazing young man,” said Ty Petersburg, a wildlife manager for the agency.
Kauffman was the 22nd person attacked by a mountain lion in Colorado since 1990, Parks and Wildlife said. Three of the attacks were fatal.
A necropsy report said the lion that attacked Kauffman was male, four or five months old, weighing 35 to 40 pounds. The cat had limited fat, indicating it was hungry but not starving. It showed no sign of rabies or other diseases, the report said, but many of its organs had been scavenged by other animals before the body was recovered.
Adult male mountain lions average about 150 pounds, Parks and Wildlife said.
Petersburg said officers set up cameras and traps in the area for several days after the attack. They saw no large mountain lions but captured two young ones in good health. He said both are in a rehabilitation center, and the agency hopes to release them back into the wild.
Kauffman, an environmental consultant, described himself as an avid runner, cyclist and skier who has a pet cat at home. He said he doesn’t plan to retreat from the outdoors.
“I will go run those trails again,” he said, but added, “I will go with a buddy there.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

2 hours ago

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

2 hours ago

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

2 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

2 hours ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

3 hours ago

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

3 hours ago

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

3 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

3 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

4 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Logan Ryan Martin

4 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

Fresno Ideaworks is home to a new downtown mural that celebrates those who work with their hands. Instead of a big entrance sign, Ideaworks ...

38 minutes ago

38 minutes ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

A drone view of the Rio Grande River between Mexico and the United States in Presidio County, Texas, U.S., February 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

US Judge Blocks Trump Asylum Ban at US-Mexico Border, Says He Exceeded Authority

Fresno Fire officials are seeking help identifying a person of interest after a Thursday, June 26, 2025, house fire near Shields and Valentine was ruled arson. (Fresno FD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Fire Investigators Seek Public’s Help in Arson Case

A California Highway Patrol officer died early Wednesday, July 2, 2025, after a suspected medical emergency caused his patrol vehicle to crash in Los Angeles. (CHP)
2 hours ago

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 (REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
2 hours ago

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

San Francisco Housing Development
2 hours ago

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., September 13, 2023. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

3 hours ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend