Colorado Moose Attacks Two Women, Sends Them To The Hospital

Colorado moose attacks are rare, but obviously something Colorado residents should be aware of following a moose attack on two women who were out walking their dogs.

“We were just moseying along, hiking, enjoying our hike, and then all of a sudden, I looked up and he was looking right at me,” said Jacquie Boron, 50, who was hiking with her neighbor Ellen Marie Divis, 57, reports USA Today.

The moose then shifted into attack mode according to Boron, charging her and striking her right in the chest, which sent her flying off her feet.

“I knew that they were aggressive, and I knew that I should be very careful with them,” said Boron. “But I didn’t expect them just to charge me.”

The Colorado women are recuperating in the hospital following the moose attack, which CNN reports occurred over the weekend northwest of Denver.

The moose charged the two women and their dogs in the city of Blackhawk, Colorado, but the source of the moose’s irritation and reason to attack remains unknown. Dogs and moose can make for a volatile mix, but according to the two women, this moose seemed intent on causing injury and was relentless in its attack:

“All of a sudden, I looked up and he was looking right at me and grunted and then charged,” Jackqueline Boron said in an interview with CNN affiliate KDVR. “I tried to get up, and he kept coming back and stomping on me. When I fell back he got me here,” says Boron, pointing to a nasty bruise on her arm. “Then, when I curled up forward, that’s when he got me on the head.”

According to Denver, Colorado station KDVR, the moose left a wound in the back of Boron’s head that needed to be stapled closed, 15 stitches were required to suture a gash on her leg, and four of her ribs were also broken in the attack.

Her friend, Ellen Marie Divis, also absorbed the moose’s wrath by getting stomped on during the attack, but was able to escape and go for help.

A neighbor, Chris Hockley, told KDVR: “I heard ‘help me, help me, help me.’ This lady comes running up to her house and she’s covered in blood.”

Following the moose attack, a warning was issued by the Sheriff:

“If you encounter a moose: walk away from it — DO NOT walk towards it; moose are agitated by dogs; make sure your dog is on a leash, control the dog(s) and walk away.”

“Oh, now you tells us,” one can hear the Colorado moose attack victims saying.

While moose attacks are more common than bear or wolf attacks combined, the consequences generally aren’t as dire. At the same time, more people in the Americas are injured by moose than any other wild mammal, and only hippos beat out the moose for causing most worldwide injuries to humans.

Of special note, a moose attack is far more likely when the moose is startled or within the vicinity of a dog; something most recently proven in Colorado.