An unidentified man is recovering in a Fort Collins-area hospital after he killed a mountain lion in self-defense after the animal attacked him Monday afternoon at Horsetooth Mountain Park.
Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The Coloradoan the man was running alone on the park’s West Ridge Trail when he was attacked from behind. The animal was later identified as a juvenile mountain lion, possibly weighing about 80 pounds or more.
The man, whose name and place of residence have not been released, 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 fight and break free from the lion.
While defending himself, he told investigators that he killed the lion by suffocating it. The man sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed the man’s account of the attack through further investigation and examining the juvenile mountain lion. A necropsy will be performed on the mountain lion to determine if it was sick or injured, which might have prompted the attack.
“The runner did everything he could to save his life,” said Mark Leslie, CPW’s Northeast Region manager. “In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did.”
The popular park was reopened Monday evening after closing due to the investigation.