Wait, WHAT?! A Jogger Fought Off & Killed A Mountain Lion With His Bare Hands

Now this is truly frightening!
On Monday, a jogger in Colorado fought off and killed a mountain lion with his bare hands, after the 80-pound animal attacked him on a trail. The unidentified male trail runner sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries, and is currently okay.
But we have to know how the hell did this happened?!
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According to a statement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the man was trail running on the West Ridge Trail at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space in Fort Collins when he heard something behind him. When he turned around, he saw the lion. The animal lunged at him, and bit him on the face and wrist.
The runner reportedly fought back and was able to get into a position that allowed him to suffocate the mountain lion using only his bare hands. Although its unclear if the man actually had any weapons on him to begin with, he didn’t have to use any to take down his ferocious foe.
Un-be-LIEVABLE!!!
According to Mark Leslie, manager for the CPW Northeast Region, the man actually did the right thing here:

“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.” 

We just couldn’t imagine being faced with such a task. Mountain lions attacks on humans are apparently very rare, so what was different about this time?
A different wildlife manager for CPW says it appears the mountain lion’s “hunting instincts were triggered by the runner” and stated that this all “could have had a very different outcome.”

This is really sad and scary to hear.
While we are happy the trail runner survived, the mountain lion was reportedly a younger, male and it sounds like both could have walked away from this situation alive had they never crossed paths.
The agency also noted that there have been less than 20 fatal attacks in North America in more than 100 years. So while this sounds like a crazy, deleted scene from The Parent Trap, there are ways to make sure you never end up in this guy’s shoes. (You can check out those tips HERE.)
Stay safe out there, guys!
[Image via Google Images/Flickr]