Following a spate of recent attacks, Colorado officials are warning residents and visitors to be wary of “potentially aggressive cow moose.” In a press release, Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) detailed three moose attacks that took place over the course of just three days.
The first, on Friday, May 30, involved a pair of woman walking their off-leash dogs along a creek near Fairplay, which is 85 miles southwest of Denver. A cow moose “charged and trampled the women multiple times.” Eventually, the women were able to climb onto a roof close by, while a neighbor deterred the moose using a fire extinguisher. Thankfully, the women did not need medical attention. CPW officials returned to the scene and found two cow moose. Because they could not tell which one was the culprit, they didn’t take any management actions.
Then, on May 31, a couple was walking their dog on a leash near Columbine Lake in the town of Grand Lake, just west of Rocky Mountain National Park, when a cow moose charged them. It knocked the woman to the ground. She was able to crawl under a storage shed in her yard, but the moose continued to try to stomp her. So, the woman’s boyfriend shot and killed the moose.
When officials reported to the scene, they treated the woman for injuries to her face, shoulder, and arms. CPW officers determined that the man had shot the moose in self-defense and also located a calf bedded nearby but out of sight from the victims, leading them to believe that the cow moose had been attempting to protect its calf. CPW officers then euthanized the calf.
“The decision to euthanize the calf was not easy to make,” said Hot Sulphur Springs Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington. “While rehabilitation can be successful in some cases, it’s not a guaranteed solution. In the case of this moose calf, taking it to a rehab at such a young age would not be in the best interest of the animal’s long-term survival in the wild.”
The third moose attack took place on the evening of June 1 at River Creek Park in Steamboat Springs. A woman was walking two dogs off leash when the cow moose attacked her. A man paddleboarding found the woman lying next to the river. He attempted to help her to the parking lot when the moose charged again and kicked him.
Eventually, the woman was transported to the hospital with serious injuries before being airlifted to a facility on the state’s populous Front Range. The man did not need medical treatment. CPW officials later observed a cow moose with two calves at the scene of the attack. They believe the moose was acting in defense of her offspring and instituted a public closure at the park through June 4 and may extend the closure if needed.
Colorado is home to over 3,000 moose and has one of the fastest-growing moose populations in the continental U.S. The subspecies present in the state is the “Shiras moose,” which are the smallest of four subspecies found in the U.S. Still, Shiras bulls can grow to 9 ½ feet long, 6-feet tall, and over 1,000 pounds.
During the spring, cow moose are known to be especially aggressive and territorial when defending their young. Moose attacks are still rare, and Colorado has only seen 22 injuries from moose attacks since 2019. CPW maintains a “Living in Moose Habitat” webpage, which offers best practices such as keeping dogs on a leash and avoiding thick willows when recreating.
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