© Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan Local runner Travis Kauffman describes the approximate size of the adolescent mountain lion that attacked him, as seen on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, in Fort Collins, Colo.FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The final necropsy report of the mountain lion killed by Colorado trail runner Travis Kauffman estimates the age of the lion at three to four months.
The necropsy performed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarians in Fort Collins identified the lion as a “kitten” with a weight of 24 pounds. However, the animal was heavily scavenged and officials estimated the animal’s live weight was 35 to 40 pounds. The report listed the animal in “fair condition” with no diseases noted.
According to the necropsy, “blood-staining of the scavenged tissues suggests the scavenging took place perimortem (meaning taking place at or around the time of death).”
The necropsy went on to say the “pattern of scavenging is reminiscent of feline…
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Exposing the Big Game 
The kitten was only 3 or 4 months old. Spin control is now trying to blur the line between ‘kitten’ and ‘young lion’ – but any expert would not, a kitten is a kitten.
This guy says his fear was that the mother would come after him – too bad she didn’t rip his lungs out. 😦
Heh. My favorite line from Werewolves of London – ‘You better stay away from him, he’ll rip your lungs out, Jim.” Not the blog’s Jim, of course. 😉
The thing is, the media gleefully played this up like it was an adult lion – a ‘man conquers animal’ story that should have gone out in the 1950s. And probably the guy himself, and I’ll bet he got paid for his story too.
An adult male mountain lion weight from 110 to 180 lbs, the female smaller at 80 to 130 lbs. That’s as big as a human. This animal they estimate was between 30 and 40 lbs. I knew it sounded fishy because there would be no way someone could strangle one. A little embarrassing if you ask me.
The UK Daily Mail has in their article a copy of the necropsy report, signed by two Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarians, who list the animal as a kitten, who did not even have his adult teeth in yet, baby teeth. I think they would know more than the sensationalizing media!
“Presented for necropsy is the carcass of an approximately 3 -4 month old (deciduous canines fully erupted, no permanent canine eruption, lateral incisors partially erupted) mountain lion kitten.”
Rabies was negative.
So the guy was scratched up quite a bit, but I don’t think he was in any real danger. 😦
They’ve also got an article about the woman with the bloody hands, who claims killing a mountain lion was ‘the happiest day of her life’.
This guy was all over the media, made out to be some kind of hero. Killing a cougar kitten was hardly some Herculean triumph over the wild. The truth should be exposed too.
I know, it’s terrible. I never read the original story because the headlines used words like ‘suffocation’ and ‘strangle’ with such zeal. Now that we know the animal was probably barely weaned, it’s even worse!
We’re still in the early 20th century as far as journalism goes, it seems. 😦
Hopefully, this sick joke of a story will end now.