Moose head-butts woman, sends her to hospital, Idaho officials say. ‘I could have died’
A woman in Idaho realized she’s lucky to be alive after going head-to-head with a moose right in her own driveway.
Lori Sarchett of Ketchum had just gotten home with her dog on Friday, Jan. 13, Idaho Fish and Game officials said in a news release, and she let her dog out of the car and got out.
She hadn’t noticed the cow moose in her yard until it was much too late, she told the Idaho Mountain Express.
Sarchett’s 12-pound miniature Schnauzer ran over to the side of the yard and barked right at the moose, which was about 20 feet away at that point, the release and Mountain Express said. Sarchett walked behind the car to call the dog back, she told the outlet.
“That’s when the moose was, all of a sudden, three feet away from me, head down, and she butted me in the head,” Sarchett told the outlet. “It all happened very fast — they can move unbelievably fast. I didn’t even see her charge. Then she was gone.”
She didn’t report the attack to wildlife officials until Jan. 17, Idaho Fish and Game spokesperson Terry Thompson told McClatchy News in an interview.
She told officials she blacked out and described seeing stars when she came to, so she went to the hospital. She was treated for a severe concussion, a broken nose, and extensive bruising and tenderness in her tailbone from getting knocked to the ground, Thompson said.
From her injuries, officials believe the moose may have struck out with her front hooves and kept attacking while Sarchett was unconscious. She seemed to realize the severity of the attack while describing it to wildlife officials.
“You know, I could have died,” Thompson says she told them.
“I have no doubt at all that is the case,” Thompson said. “I guess I would consider her very lucky, and we’re very glad she’s OK.”
Wildlife officials are asking residents to remain vigilant and cautious of wildlife. There’s been a few cow moose spotted hanging around Ketchum neighborhoods, so people get used to seeing them and tend to be less cautious around them, Thompson said.
But that’s a mistake, he says. They can still be unpredictable, especially in winter when their food source is scarce from the snow and cold and they’re relying on body fat for energy, he said.
“They get cranky,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to flip that switch where they get more aggressive than they otherwise would.”
They don’t seem to tolerate unleashed dogs very well, he said. He suspects the dog’s barking got the moose riled up, which he said seems to be a common thread with dangerous moose encounters.
“Moose, they have a reputation of being slow and plodding. They can be extremely fast,” he said. “She had no idea a moose could cover that amount of ground that quickly.”
Moose shakes his head and his antlers go flying. Watch it happen from a birds-eye view
Watch as a moose chases a man up a tree in Canada and waits for him to come back down
‘Spirit animal’? Rare type of moose seen by team surveying interior Alaska from plane
