Runner suffocated mountain lion to death

Man was defending himself in attack

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A trail runner attacked by a mountain lion Monday while running in a Colorado park killed the predator by suffocating it, state wildlife officials said.

The man, who hasn’t been identified, was running alone in Horsetooth Mountain Park when he was attacked from behind, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife release.

The man told authorities he heard something behind him on the trail and as he turned, he was attacked. He said he was bitten on his face and wrist but was able to fight and break free. While defending himself, he killed the lion.

The man sustained serious but nonlife-threatening injuries. He hiked down the trail and drove himself to a local hospital, according to wildlife officials.

Agency officials confirmed the man’s account of the attack through further investigation and examining the juvenile mountain lion. A necropsy will be performed to determine if the moutain lion was sick or injured, which might have prompted the attack.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life,” said Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Northeast Region manager. “In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did.”

The popular park was reopened Monday evening after closing because of the investigation.

The agency said fewer than 20 fatal mountain lion attacks on humans have been reported in North America over the past 100 years. Since 1990, 16 people have been injured in mountain lion attacks in Colorado and three have been killed. Mountain lions are known to be active in and around Fort Collins. Wildlife officials shot and killed a mountain lion north of Wellington in November 2017 after it killed goats and alpacas in the area.

COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE A mountain lion east of Wellington was shot and killed after it attacked several livestock animals.