A Homer, Alaska, man died Sunday morning after being attacked by a female moose, according to an online dispatch from Alaska state troopers.
The announcement explained that the “cow moose charged two men, kicking one of them.” Medics then “arrived on the scene and declared the victim deceased,” the dispatch read.
Authorities told Alaska’s News Source that the incident “occurred near a residence in a neighborhood” and that “the two men charged by the moose were not related.”
A 70-year-old Alaska man who was trying to take photos of two newborn moose calves was attacked and killed by their mother, authorities said Monday.
The animals are not normally aggressive, but can become so if provoked, officials say.https://t.co/a4dA44SDyk pic.twitter.com/dnx03xJdet
— ABC News (@ABC) May 21, 2024
The attack began when 70-year-old Dale Chorman and another individual tried to get a closer look at newborn moose calves on Chorman’s property. Journalist Tom Kizzia explained that the two men were attempting to get as close as they could and to take pictures of the babies, when “suddenly out of nowhere, that moose was coming at them.” RELATED: (Wild Video Shows Gargantuan Moose Chasing After Skiers)
Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press on Monday that the moose had just birthed the two calves and attacked the men as they were fleeing. The person accompanying Chorman, who has not been identified to the public, was not injured, the outlet noted.
Chorman’s son explained in a social media post that his father “was intimately familiar with nature” but that he “got caught in a dangerous moment.” He did not blame the moose, writing that “she was just protecting her offspring” and should not be killed.
It appears he might get his wish. Cyndi Wardlow, a regional supervisor in the Department of Wildlife Conservation, said that “[i]f there was an animal that was behaving in a way that continued to present a public safety threat, then we could possibly put that animal down but we’re not specifically pursuing that course,” according to The Seattle Times.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game noted that “more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year” and advises residents facing moose attacks to “[r]un and get behind something solid, like a tree, or retreat to a safe place, like inside a building or car.”
Moose typically attack between five and ten people in Alaska each year.
