Wildlife authorities are investigating a moose attack near Denver after a man said the animal charged and trampled him as he walked two dogs on Monday.
The man, who is in his late 50s, told officials that he surprised a cow moose and her calf while rounding a hairpin turn in a trail along Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a news release. The moose then charged the man and knocked him down before trampling him, "stomping him several times," according to the release.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the man, identified as longtime Coal Creek resident Rob Standerwick by the Fox affiliate KVDR, was armed when the animal encounter occurred. He fired two shots into the ground in an effort to startle the moose, and she retreated, he told authorities. He was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries not considered life-threatening. The dogs were off-leash at the time of the attack and were not injured.
Recounting the interaction, Standerwick told KVDR he had seen the cow — a female moose — around that trail before.
"I've seen her in the past, and when we see her with her baby, we know to divert, turn around and divert to another trail. And she's never had a problem with that. But this time, I didn't see her until the last second, and she didn't see me because this was right after a bend in the creek, so she was in an aspen grove. So I'm sure I just startled her and we were just closer than we've ever been." he said, according to the station. "She was doing her job as a mom."
Officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife later searched Coal Creek Canyon for the moose and her calf, but did not find the animals.
Wildlife officials described the moose population in Colorado as "healthy and thriving," with an estimated 3,000 of the animals roaming statewide. In the late spring and early summer months, cow moose with young calves can be aggressive, and sometimes see dogs as predators or threats, officials warn, noting that calves are typically born over a period of three or four weeks between late May and mid-June.
As Colorado's moose population has increased over the years, conflicts involving the animals have become more prevalent as well, CBS Colorado reported.
"This time of year we do see cow moose, in particular, becoming more aggressive when they feel like they need to defend their calves," said Kara Von Hoose, a public information officer for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region, in comments to the station.