The mountain lion strangled by a man after it attacked him on a jogging trail last month was a young cub, weighing no more than 18 kilograms and likely orphaned but not starving, US state wildlife officials say.

Key points: A Colorado local was jogging through trails and was attacked by a mountain lion

A Colorado local was jogging through trails and was attacked by a mountain lion Authorities said it was an orphaned cougar cub, and have taken two others into care

Authorities said it was an orphaned cougar cub, and have taken two others into care Big cat attacks on humans are rare in the US, with less than a dozen in over 100 years

The encounter between the young predator and Travis Kauffman garnered international headlines when authorities revealed that the 31-year-old Colorado man had not only survived a rare mountain lion attack but had suffocated the cat by stepping on its throat.

A necropsy — the animal equivalent of an autopsy — showed the cougar was four to five months old, based on the condition of its teeth, and the results confirmed Mr Kauffman's account of the struggle.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement: "The cause of death was determined to be… blunt trauma and strangulation."

Mr Kauffman recounted his harrowing tale at a news conference last week.

He said on February 4 he was jogging on the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, about 105km northwest of Denver, when he heard pine needles rustling and turned to see a cougar staring him down.

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"I was bummed out to see a mountain lion," he told reporters.

The environmental consultant said he raised his arms and yelled, but the cougar pounced, clamping its jaws on his right wrist, and slashing his face and neck with its claws.

During the three-minute struggle, Mr Kauffman said he unsuccessfully tried to dislodge the cat by hitting it with a rock and stabbing it with sticks.

Ultimately he was able to get on top of the cat and place his foot on its throat until it stopped thrashing.

Mr Kauffman, right, tried to scare the cat away with rocks and sticks before he stepped on its throat. ( Colorado Parks & Wildlife via Reuters )

North American cougars are the continent's largest wild cat and in the past 100 years fewer than a dozen fatalities between these animals and humans.

Mr Kauffman suffered multiple cuts and scrapes but no permanent injuries.

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Veterinarians who performed the necropsy could not determine the gender or precise size of the dead cat because other animals had fed on the carcass by the time rangers reached it.

But the examiners surmised the cougar was likely a male that weighed between 16 and 18 kg, authorities said.

Parks and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay said that mountain lions normally stay with their mothers for 12 to 18 months before striking out on their own, and two other cubs believed to be from the same litter were later trapped.

The cats were taken to an animal rehabilitation facility to give them a better chance for survival when they are released back into the wild at some point, Mr Clay said.

ABC/Reuters