Arkansas native details big cat attack

A man with Arkansas roots detailed Thursday how he fended off a mountain lion that attacked him, killing the creature by choking it in a Colorado nature park earlier this month.

Travis Kauffman, a native of Mountain Home, said he defended himself against the mountain lion that attacked him while he was running along a wooded trail near his Fort Collins home on Feb 4.

At a news conference in Colorado, he spoke for the first time publicly about the encounter. Kauffman, 31, said that when the cat ran after him, “one of my worst fears was imagined.”

“It’s one of those things where it captures the imagination because it’s a modern-day ‘man versus nature’ scenario,” he said. “There’s still … an aura of mystique around that.”

According to a news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Kauffman has lived in the Fort Collins area for about five years and works in environmental consulting. Members of Kauffman’s family still live in Mountain Home, though they could not be reached for comment or declined to comment Thursday.

After the attack, Kauffman required more than 20 stitches in his face and wrist, according to the release.

He detailed Thursday the harrowing encounter with the cat, saying he was running along the trail when he heard the mountain lion approaching from behind.

Kauffman said he made eye contact with the animal and tried to scare it off by yelling and waving his hands, but it lunged at him. He said the cat bit him in the face and latched on to his wrist, scratching Kauffman’s head and body.

He described the frenetic wrestle with the animal as driven by “pure adrenaline.” He stabbed the cat with sticks, which broke, and bashed it with a rock.

Kaufmann said he was eventually able to get on the mountain lion’s back and put his foot on its neck, suffocating it.

Kauffman said he ran 3 miles after killing the mountain lion, scared that he would encounter another one.