When the Puma bit down, Travis Kauffman uttered a "barbaric cry" - the 31-year-old describes an incident in which he was injured and killed the animal.

For the first time Kauffman has described his experiences on 4 February in detail. He'd been traveling about a hundred miles northwest of Denver when he heard a rustle. He looked around and saw the young Puma about three meters away. "One of my biggest fears was confirmed," Kauffman said at a press conference in Fort Collins, Colorado. There lives the environmental consultant with his girlfriend. He raised his arms and screamed to drive away the cougar.

But the mountain lion attacked him, bit his right wrist, and scratched his face with his claws. Out of fear, Kauffman says, has become a fighting spirit. He took a stone and struck the animal's head. He also tried to sting it with twigs, but the cougar had not drained.

"I was just thankful that he had his eyes and fingers"

Finally, Kauffman reported, he managed to push the animal to the ground. He pressed his foot against his neck until the cougar died. "At some point he stopped moving, the jaws opened," Kauffman said. Overall, it took about three minutes. He ran away. Other joggers had met him and brought him to the hospital.

He suffered facial, neck, wrist and leg injuries that had to be sutured with more than 20 stitches. "I was just thankful that he had his eyes and fingers and all his body parts," said Kauffman's girlfriend Annie Bierbower. Lasting damage is not expected - so far he is a lucky guy, said Kauffman. "I should buy a bunch of lottery tickets."

The jogger - 1.77 meters tall and weighing 70 kilos - has no martial arts experience. He acted instinctively, he said. During the fight he was afraid that another cougar, possibly the mother of the animal, might come over and attack him as well.

REUTERS / Colorado Parks & Wildlife

Kauffman with his girlfriend

Officials of the Parks and Wildlife Authorities found the dead puma. The examination of the carcass and other traces have confirmed Kauffman's version of the events.

According to this, the puma was male, four to five months old and weighed between 16 and 18 kilograms - adult specimens weigh around 70 kilograms. The animal had little fat reserves - it was probably hungry, but not in danger of starvation. There are no signs of rabies or other diseases. But other animals would have eaten parts of the carcass before it was found.

Puma attacks on humans are very rare. According to authorities, there have been fewer than 20 fatal incidents in North America over the past one hundred years.

Colorado has between 4500 and 5500 pumas. Kauffmann is the 22nd person since 1990 who was attacked by the animals in the US state. Three of the attacks were deadly.

Kauffmann, who jogs, cycles and skis according to himself, does not want to avoid the area in future. "I'm definitely going to run these trails again," he said. "But I will take a partner with me."