{"id":21924,"date":"2025-06-06T15:05:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T21:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cpw-relocates-moose-calves-involved-in-attack-that-injured-woman\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T21:05:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T21:05:59","slug":"cpw-relocates-moose-calves-involved-in-attack-that-injured-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cpw-relocates-moose-calves-involved-in-attack-that-injured-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"CPW relocates moose, calves involved in attack that injured woman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A cow moose sits in the back of a horse trailer at River Creek Park on Wednesday after being tranquilized. The moose was involved in an incident June 1 that seriously injured a woman who was walking her dog in the area. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers successfully removed a cow and two calf moose from River Creek Park on Wednesday and relocated them outside of Steamboat Springs city limits for the safety and well-being of the moose and the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did safely relocate them to an area outside of town limits that is going to be a much better place for them to be,\u201d said Rachael Gonzales, public information officer for Parks and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re looking at the habitat in this area, it is amazing habitat. Those willows and water is exactly what moose want, and it\u2019s where they thrive,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cBut what we\u2019re really looking at is the bigger picture \u2013 this park is located right in the middle of a not-so-great spot, and right now you have the water running really high in the Yampa, and if the mom had tried to cross and the calves had tried to follow, they probably wouldn\u2019t survive. They\u2019re just too young.\u201d<\/p>\n

The park is located adjacent to the Yampa River Core Trail at the intersection of U.S. Highway 40 and Walton Creek Road.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter monitoring the moose and her young over the last 48 hours, we determined they were very comfortable in the area and not going to move on their own,\u201d said Justin Pollock, assistant area wildlife manager. \u201cWhile this area is perfect habitat for moose, the risk not only to their safety in a populated area and the safety of people was too high, which is why we chose to relocate them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parks and Wildlife said in a news release that officers were able to tranquilize the cow moose and load her into a horse trailer where she was given a drug to reverse the sedation drugs. Both calves were then picked up, fully awake, and placed into the trailer with blindfolds to reduce stress. The cow moose was fitted with a collar and will be monitored by Parks and Wildlife as part of a moose population and movement study being conducted in Steamboat Springs.<\/p>\n

Gonzales said the moose and calves were safely transported to an area outside of Steamboat Springs and monitored by CPW for a brief period.<\/p>\n

The relocated cow moose is the same one involved in an attack last week in which a woman was seriously injured and taken to the hospital, and later flown to the Front Range. Parks and Wildlife, as well as city police, were unable to provide any updates on the woman\u2019s condition Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

A paddleboarder who stopped to help the injured woman also received minor injuries after being kicked by the moose while helping the victim get to safety. Gonzales said the woman was walking two leashed dogs, and believes she may have startled the moose, which was hidden in nearby willows along with two newborn calves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dogs were able to get out of the area,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cOne dog was found in the parking lot, fine, with the leash still on the dog. The other dog made its way home, so both dogs are fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city has reopened River Creek Park. Parks and Wildlife and the city of Steamboat want to remind the public that it is not uncommon to see moose in and around town. Moose are often found in areas near water with an abundance of willows, which is their primary food source.<\/p>\n

It is important to maintain a safe distance from moose, never approach them, and keep your dogs on a leash when hiking in moose habitat. If you know there is a moose in the area or see signs warning about an aggressive animal, it\u2019s recommended that people find another place to spend time outdoors.<\/p>\n

Gonzales said moose can blend into the background that is found in and around Steamboat and that visitors and residents must always be vigilant. In Sunday\u2019s incident, she said, the injured woman was following all rules and recommendations but still was unable to avoid the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings happen even when we follow all of the rules,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cIn places like Steamboat it\u2019s important to be extra vigilant when you\u2019re recreating. Maybe that means keeping your dog on a shorter leash \u2026 maybe don\u2019t walk or jog with headphones. I know we all want to listen to our favorite playlist, or that audio book we\u2019ve been sucked into, but you are probably going to hear an animal before you ever see the animal. Moose are really big, but they can blend in so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative. Learn more at https:\/\/colabnews.co<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

to location outside of Steamboat Springs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1031,28,603],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-21924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-parks-and-wildlife","tag-headlines","tag-wildlife"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21924"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=21924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}