Encounters between the approximately 3,000 elk that call the Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park area home and the more than 4 million tourists who visit the park annually are inevitable.
But Colorado wildlife officials are calling a third attack of a person by a cow moose in Estes Park in eight days “unprecedented.”
The latest attack occurred early Friday morning (June 7), when a cow moose attacked an adult woman walking her dog on a leash near South St. Vrain Avenue and Stanley Avenue, according to a new release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The woman apparently startled a cow elk and her calf, which were later spotted nearby. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the cow elk attacked the woman from about 20 yards away. The woman tried to run behind a tree for safety, but the moose knocked her to the ground and stomped and kicked her several times.
According to the press release, the woman received medical treatment for her injuries.
“Cow elk with young calves are known to be aggressive, but we have never seen a year like this,” Jason Duetsch, wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said in a news release. “All three attacks were unprovoked and unfortunate accidents. We have no clear evidence that these attacks came from the same animal, which underlines how unusual the elk’s behavior has been.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told the Coloradoan after the first attack that wildlife is not euthanized if it exhibits normal or natural behavior, such as a mother moose protecting her calf.
The first two cow elk attacks involved elk stomping on children. These took place on May 30 and June 3.
The last two attacks occurred just blocks apart south of the intersection of US Highway 36 and Colorado Highway 7. It was not reported where the first attack took place.
The state wildlife agency is warning residents and tourists visiting Estes Park, the gateway to the popular Rocky Mountain National Park, to take extra caution when outdoors until moose calving season ends, which is generally the early it’s summer.
The number of attacks on humans by elk in Colorado was not available.
However, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, between 1990 and 2023 there have been 88 attacks by black bears on humans, three of which were fatal, and 28 attacks by mountain lions on humans, three of which were fatal.
Since 2006, there have been 21 elk attacks on humans, with one fatal attack, and almost all of them occurred with a dog or dogs present.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Moose attacks on Estes Park: Third attack reported in Colorado city in 8 days
