Hunter air-lifted following moose attack
A man hunting in the Poudre Canyon Tuesday was air-lifted to a local hospital after he was attacked by a moose.
At around noon Tuesday, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency SOS from a GPS device carried by an adult male hunter off Long Draw Road above Colo. 14, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office. Through the device, the man indicated that he had been seriously injured by an animal.
The hunter had hiked about a mile and a half to Long Draw Road and was being helped by passersby when an LCSO deputy arrived. The deputy immediately began providing first aid, placing a tourniquet on his arm and “keeping him comfortable” until paramedics from Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
The hunter told the deputy that he had been bow hunting and shot at a bull moose but missed. The moose then charged and gored the hunter, the post said.
The man was eventually airlifted to an area hospital because of the severity of his injuries, but the post did not provide an update on his condition as of Wednesday. However, Bridget O’rourke Kochel, an information officer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said that the hunter is at Medical Center of the Rockies and is expected to be there for several days.
The Sheriff’s Office included in its post that the department is proud of the deputy who responded and his “quick, decisive assessment of the injuries to stabilize the hunter.”
The LCSO also commended the people who helped transport the man down Long Draw Road, waved down the LCSO
deputy and helped him with traffic control so medical personnel on scene could help the man.
O’rourke Kochel said that over the last few years wildlife officials have seen an increase in moose attacks across the state. Specific numbers, however, were not immediately available.
If someone encounters a moose while out on a trail, it is important to stay calm, stay focused on the moose and back up slowly to show the animal that you are not a threat, she said, and advised people to hide behind trees while backing up in the event that the moose charges.
“If it charges, it is going to come at a really fast pace,” she said. “You are, at that point, trying to protect yourself.”
O’rourke Kochel added that it is important for anyone spending time or living in remote areas to have a device to allow them to contact emergency services like the hunter in this incident, adding that it “could be the difference between life and death.”
She added it is also important to tell people where you are going and leave information in your car for anyone who may be looking for you should something happen.