Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are offering wildlife safety tips after a hiker was trampled by a moose in Teller County on Tuesday.

Two hikers were walking their three dogs near the Crags Trail, off Colorado 67 around 3 miles south of Divide, when they spotted a cow moose with her calf, officials said in a news release.

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The hikers attempted to go around the moose from a distance, but the cow continued to approach the group, CPW said. One of the dogs, which were reportedly on-leash, began to bark and the moose then trampled one of the hikers.

“This cow moose was exhibiting classic protective behavior of its calf,” said Tim Kroening, CPW area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region.

Both hikers managed to run, but the cow moose pursued them down the trail before stopping, allowing them to reach their vehicles, CPW said.

Officials said the hiker was evaluated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.

“We know Colorado residents love their dogs, but understand that moose see dogs as predators and react in defense of themselves and their young,” Kroening said.

Two other moose attacks on humans, both reported in Boulder County, have occurred in Colorado in 2023, and a similar incident occurred on Crags Trail in July 2022.

Officials said the moose population, has swelled from 2,250 in 2013 to an estimated 3,500. As more people recreate and move outside of the state’s urban areas, outdoors-goers should be aware of wildlife behavior and what to do if they come across a wild animal.

Dogs should be leashed or, “better yet, (kept) at home,” Kroening said.

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Kroening urged hikers to avoid thick willow habitat in riparian areas — or ecosystems near bodies of water — where moose often eat or rest. Calves are typically born in the weeks between the end of May and mid-June and stay with their mother through the fall season and may be lying in high willow plants.

As Colorado slips into the autumn months, hikers should be increasingly cautious of deer, elk and moose entering the rut, or the annual breeding season when male animals may turn aggression toward each other to humans.

Aggressive moose may pin their ears back, lick their snout, and raise the hair along their spine and rump. In the rare event of an attack, CPW says to run and keep a large object, like a tree or rock, in the moose’s way and then call CPW or 911 immediately.

A YouTube video created by CPW in recent years on how to be responsible around moose can be found below:

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