Two moose attacks were reported in Winter Park less than two days apart

WINTER PARK, Colorado – June began with two moose attacks in less than two days in Winter Park.

Bob Dowell is originally from Littleton but has lived in Winter Park for four years. His two dogs, Sydney and Kosci, are always there to remind him to take them for walks.

“Every morning it’s sun up, let’s go. It’s exciting,” said Dowell, smiling at his dogs. “They let us know if we don’t take them for a walk. That’s good for us too.”

Sunday, June 2, was no different. Dowell had seen a cow moose and her calf outside her house earlier in the day, but that’s normal in the area.

“I thought we’d take them for a quick walk, just keep them on a leash and stay on the sidewalk. Because in my eyes, the sidewalk was safer,” Dowell explained. “You get a kind of false sense of security… Just because you’re a local here doesn’t mean you’re immune to the realities of life here.”

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Dowell and the dogs were not far from their house when they rounded a corner and saw the mother and baby about 100 feet away. Dowell said they immediately turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

“The most I ever saw was them taking a few steps toward you, jumping, moving, then going back to the baby. And then we’d turn around and disappear from sight,” Dowell recalled. “Mom kept coming closer. She left the baby in the dust. She had a mission.”

Dowell tried to hide between two houses in the neighborhood, but the moose continued to pursue his dogs.

“I must have been in the air because I remember landing – I don’t remember being thrown up. So I don’t know if she did it with her head or how she did it,” Dowell said. “I remember letting go of my dogs at that point because I thought at least they could run away and get away and I could take care of myself, I thought. But the momma moose kept going after my babies.”

The dogs were tied together on a single leash, something Dowell says he will never do again. Kosci and Sydney had difficulty running away from the moose because they were tied together.

“They couldn’t run at the same speed and ended up being crushed by the cow moose,” Dowell said. “The cow moose is on top of my dogs, rearing up with her front hooves and just running after them. I don’t know how else to describe it. She wasn’t really kicking, she was just rearing up and trampling them with her front hooves.”

Stunned and unsure of what else to do, Dowell charged at the moose and rammed it with his shoulder. Sydney was able to free herself from her collar and run away from the moose.

“I don’t know if the moose had already moved a few steps at that point, but I saw my dog ​​(Kosci) lying on the ground. I thought he was badly injured because just hearing the animals cry was heartbreaking. She was lying on her back on the ground, twitching. I just picked her up and ran,” Dowell said.

The moose continued to pursue Dowell as he carried Kosci away, but they eventually hid between some pillars and a deck until the moose left them alone.

“Eventually I found my phone. The moose had ripped the front pocket of my hoodie, so I couldn’t find my phone for a while. I finally called my son because I was afraid to even retrace my steps at that point,” Dowell explained.

His son rushed to help Dowell and the dogs when Sydney found her family after fleeing the attack. Dowell immediately took the dogs to the vet and was shocked to find they only suffered cuts and bruises.

“Now, when I’m out in this area and I see someone walking their dog, I stop, tell them what happened and ask them to be careful. And you know, I probably would never have done that before,” Dowell said.

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Rachael Gonzales of Colorado Parks and Wildlife said moose view dogs as predators and advises owners to keep their dogs on a leash and close to them. She also warned against wearing headphones while out in the area.

“Unfortunately, with these last two events, it was just the wrong place at the wrong time. But that just shows the mother’s protective instincts and why we need to be extra vigilant when we’re out recreating, especially this time of year in areas known for calving,” Gonzales said. “If you see a calf, the mother is probably nearby. So it’s best to stop and look around. What’s the best way to get out of here without spooking the moose?”

Gonzales said less than 48 hours after Dowell’s attack, another person was attacked by a moose while running in Winter Park.

“They were unfortunately taken to the hospital with pretty serious injuries, but they are now recovering at home,” Gonzales said. “They both live in these neighborhoods, just a few blocks from each other. But if you talk about walking distance, it’s not very far.”

Gonzales explained that moose consider Winter Park their home because it provides the habitat they love. She said the first thing to do if you encounter a moose up close is to try to leave the area without scaring the animal.

“Go away and find something big. Maybe it’s a boulder, a tree, a car, anything you can put between you and the moose,” Gonzales said. “You might have one or two that have those late-season calves, but we’re talking about a week-old calf and a day-old calf. The mother will protect the week-old calf just as much as she would a day-old calf. And even if they’re only a couple of weeks old. So it’s best to give them space.”

A good rule of thumb for determining a safe distance from a moose, Gonzales said, is whether a zoom is required to take a photo of the moose with a phone.

Gonzales said it’s difficult to say whether more attacks in the area this year are due to moose, because CPW doesn’t report many moose encounters.