By Mitchell Byars
Source Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
A Boulder County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a moose outside Nederland after it reportedly injured two people and a dog and then continued to charge at them.
According to a release, a man and a woman were hiking with a dog near the West Magnolia Trailhead at about 8 a.m. this morning when the moose charged them. The man and the dog sustained serious injuries, while the woman suffered minor injuries.
A sheriff's deputy encountered the cow moose as he was trying to find the injured people who were yelling for help. The deputy used bean bags rounds and was initially able to scare the moose off. But while the deputy was helping the two injured people, the moose returned to the area. The deputy fired a warning shot and the moose left but then returned again as the deputy and medics were evacuating the injured man to the trailhead.
The moose continued to charge at people, so the deputy shot and killed the moose with a service weapon.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife will investigate the incident, and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Nederland Fire Protection District, Nederland Police Department and American Medical Response also responded to the call.
Jason Clay with Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the couple and their dog — which Clay said was off leash but under control at the time — had just started their hike when they rounded a bend with a rocky outcropping that initially hid the moose from view.
Clay said the moose also had a calf with her, and that would have made her very aggressive.
"It was just a bad combination of factors: The cow having a calf, the surprise nature of the encounter and the presence of dogs in the area all made for a bad situation," Clay said. "There are just some inherent dangers that come when you're out recreating. Surprise encounters like that can take place no matter how observant you are, it's possible these situations can happen."
Clay said efforts to find the calf, which is likely not old enough to survive on its own, have not been successful.
"We were looking for it for a while, and there will be some continued efforts to look for it," Clay said. "We haven't had visuals on it, but it's probably pretty new, and one like that wouldn't make it on its own, most likely."
Clay said hikers should give moose plenty of space and should consider leaving dogs at home during birthing season in May and June and breeding season in the fall.
"There's two times of year wildlife can be very aggressive and not tolerant of humans and dogs around," Clay said.
Unlike many other animals in Colorado that will usually try to avoid humans, Clay said moose are not as skittish.
"They're not going to get out of anyone's way," Clay said. "That's just kind of how moose are. They're going to continue doing what they're doing.
"They're just a different animal, and really the most dangerous wild animal in Colorado."
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