Moose Charges 2 People And A Dog Near Nederland, Seriously Injures Man
UPDATE: Calving Season To Blame After Colorado Couple Charged By Moose During Hike
(CBS4) - One person was seriously injured on Wednesday when a moose attacked him, another person and a dog. It happened just before 8 a.m. close to the West Magnolia Trailhead. That's near Nederland in western Boulder County.
Officials with the Colorado Department of Wildlife said the man who was hurt badly is 31. They said a female also sustained minor injuries and the dog was also hurt.
A Boulder County deputy who responded to the scene saw the cow moose continuing to act dangerously following the attack, including charging other people, and ultimately decided for safety reasons to kill the animal.
CPW sent out a news release at midday saying the deputy heard the victims yelling for help when he got to the area. They said he shot bean bag rounds at the moose, who was still there, in an attempt to scare it away from the area. The moose ran off but came back soon afterwards, and then left again when the deputy fired a warning shot with his gun. She returned again, however, and began charging while the deputy and medical first responders were trying get the injured man to the trailhead and to safety.
So far it's not clear why the moose was acting so aggressively. That's something wildlife officers will be working to try to determine.
There have been two other moose attacks in Colorado in the past month, and in both cases they were by a cow moose that was being defensive because there were calves nearby. One happened in Breckenridge, a woman was hurt who had been jogging, and the other was in Grand Lake.