An older New Mexico man was attacked this week by a bull moose while running with his two dogs on a trail in central Colorado, according to wildlife officials.
The 62-year-old man was running on a trail around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday with his two dogs off-leash when the attack occurred.
He was taken to the emergency room of a Winter Park hospital with minor injuries and released later that day. His two dogs were unharmed.
“The dogs were 40 to 50 feet in front of him and came running back toward him,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Serena Rocksund. “He stopped and saw the moose at 50 feet. At that point, the dogs ran past him and left the scene.”
Rocksund said the man reported he took two steps forward to get a better look at the moose and “those two steps caused the moose to charge.”
“He’s very lucky that his only injury is a hoof print-shaped laceration on the back of his head,” she said.
She added wildlife officers did not find the moose after walking the trail system around the area he was attacked.
“This is a good reminder for folks to keep their dogs on leash and give moose plenty of space when recreating outdoors,” Rocksund said. “It’s hard to see around these corners with the thick vegetation on these trails, so having a dog on a short leash here is key.”
A 79-year-old woman was attacked by a cow moose and severely injured in Colorado earlier this month. The woman was dog-sitting for one of the tenants living at the house when she saw an adult female moose and its two calves in the yard. When the woman no longer saw the moose in the area later that evening and believed it to be safe, she took the dog out on a leash in the yard.
In early August, a man walking along a willow bottom heading towards a lake in Clear Creek County, Colorado, was charged by a bull moose he just happened to come across. That man came away uninjured as he dived behind a tree, which the bull moose hit.
In May, a man was knocked over on his back and stomped by a cow moose with two calves. The victim stated that his small dog was outside unleashed when he heard it start barking and realized there was a moose in the area. He stepped forward to grab the dog and that is when the moose charged at him. That man was examined for minor injuries on site.
Fifteen years ago on March 26, 2006, a man from Grand Lake was attacked and critically injured by a bull moose as he walked to church. That man later died from his injuries on April 6.
