A Colorado jogger fought off a mountain lion in the foothills of Horsetooth Mountain on Monday, suffering severe bites before he killed the wild animal in self-defense, authorities said.

The man, who was not identified, was jogging on a trail on the West Ridge of the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, a mountain park about 66 miles northwest of Denver.

The mountain lion attacked him from behind, biting and clawing the man's face, back, legs and arms, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources said in a joint release, late on Monday.

A jogger suffered bites and bruises after being attacked by a mountain lion on Horsetooth Mountain (pictured) in Colorado on Monday

A mountain lion makes its way through snow in the foothills outside of Golden, Colorado (file image). A jogger managed to kill a juvenile lion after it attacked him on the West Ridge of the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space

However, it was not disclosed exactly how the jogger managed to kill the animal, and no one from the CPW or the Larimer DNR was available for comment early Tuesday.

Responding to a question on Twitter about whether the jogger had used any kind of weapon against the create, the CPW confirmed that he had not.

Instead, he fought the animal off using just his bare hands.

But CPW did report that the animal was a juvenile, which would have significantly increased his chances of fighting off the attack.

Adult male mountain lions can weigh anywhere between 110 and 180 pounds and females 80 to 130 pounds - so a juvenile is likely to weigh significantly less, particularly a female.

The jogger managed to hike to safety and took himself to a local hospital. The body of the mountain lion was recovered and has been sent for a necropsy (file image)

The sex of the animal that ambushed the jogger was not reported.

The runner was able to get himself to a local hospital and his injuries were serious but not life-threatening, officials said.

The animal's body was recovered near the jogger's dropped possessions and taken to a CPW lab for a necropsy.

Although they did not disclose details of how the jogger killed the mountain lion, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed he did it 'without the use of weapons' in a tweet

'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.'

Lion attacks have caused fewer than 20 fatalities in the United States in the past 100 years. Sixteen known attacks have occurred in Colorado since 1990, officials said.

'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 in a statement. 'This could have had a very different outcome.'