A Colorado jogger has found himself becoming a viral sensation after he killed a mountain lion with his bare hands when the animal attacked him.

The incident occurred earlier this month at Horsetooth Mountain, where the unnamed man was jogging on a trail when the mountain lion attacked him from behind. The animal bit and clawed at the man’s face, leaving him with injuries there as well as on his back, legs and arms.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed that the man fought the mountain lion off without using any weapon, and that the jogger managed to kill the creature. The CPW also said that the animal was a juvenile, which increased the jogger’s chances of coming out victorious. Adult male mountain lions typically weigh between 110 and 180 pounds and females 80 to 130 pounds, so a juvenile mountain lion would logically weigh a lot less than this.

The lion’s body was found near the jogger’s possession and has been brought into custody so that researchers can study it.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life,” said Mark Leslie, CPW Northeast Regional Manager. “In the event of a lion attack, you need to do anything in your power to fight back, just as this gentleman did.”

Less than 20 people have been killed in the United States in lion attacks in the last 100 years, and 16 attacks of this nature have occurred in Colorado since 1990.

“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” said Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for the CPW. “This could have had a very different outcome.”

It’s shocking that this jogger was able to save his own life from a mountain lion attack, and we hope that he makes a full recovery.