Woman tried to pet a Colorado moose and ‘smack’ its butt, video shows. It fought back

After a woman tried to pet a moose, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is saying it again: Don’t feed or pet the wildlife.

A video captured by professional photographer and videographer Anna Stonehouse showed a woman approaching a moose in Breckenridge, Colorado. She was attempting to pet the moose, and the moose fought back.

Several people shouted at the woman to “get away” and that she was “an idiot,” according to the video. The moose kicked the woman before she walked away, the video showed.

“This girl smacked the moose’s butt,” Stonehouse said on Facebook. “I thought I was going to witness her getting stomped to death!”

The moose has been spotted wandering through the same area several times in the past few days, CBS4 reported. There are no current plans to relocate the moose because it had not shown aggression toward people, according to CBS4.

The woman who approached the moose could have been impaired, Stonehouse told The Denver Post. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the woman was cited for harassing wildlife.

Moose are very protective of their territory, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. There is a significant risk of serious injuries when people interact with moose.

Since 2013, Parks and Wildlife is aware of at least 15 moose conflicts in which a person was injured, the wildlife agency said.

“Oh, do we sound like a broken record?” Parks and Wildlife tweeted. “Sorry but we’re not sorry. LEAVE WILDLIFE WILD. DO NOT FEED OR PET.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Woman tried to pet a Colorado moose and ‘smack’ its butt, video shows. It fought back."