ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 70-year-old man was attacked and killed by his mother while trying to take a photo of two newborn moose calves in Alaska, authorities said Monday.
The man killed Sunday was identified as Dale Choman of Homer, Alaska Department of Public Safety spokesman Austin McDaniel said.
In Homer, a female elk had recently given birth to a calf.
“They were walking through the brush looking for the moose when the cow moose attacked Dale,” McDaniel said.
The attack reportedly occurred while the two men were on the run.
The second man, who has not been identified, was not injured.
Because the person did not witness the attack, authorities cannot say whether the moose killed Choman by kicking, stomping, or a combination of both.
Medics pronounced Choman dead at the scene, and the cow moose has since left the area, Alaska State Troopers said in an online post.
In 1995, a 71-year-old man was trampled to death by a moose while trying to enter a building on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.
Witnesses said the students spent hours throwing snowballs and harassing the moose and its calf, but the animals became agitated when the man tried to walk past them.
Alaska, with a population of about 737,000, is home to up to 200,000 elk.
The animal is not normally aggressive, but can become aggressive if provoked, according to the state Fish and Game website.
The agency says cow elk can become very wary of young calves and will attack humans who get too close.
“Elk calving season is when you definitely want to give them space,” McDaniel said. “A moose with a calf is probably one of the more aggressive moose you’ll come into contact with.”
People should not startle the animals or get between the mother cow and her calf, he says.
“Moose will be unpredictable and will protect their calves at all costs,” McDaniel said.
The elk, the largest member of the deer family, can weigh up to 800 pounds as a small female adult, but twice that weight as a large adult male, according to Fish and Game. .
The animal can stand up to about 6 feet tall.
