A woman in Anchorage, Alaska was routinely walking her dog last week when she was given a shocking surprise by mother nature. Camera footage captured by bystanders in a car shows a massive moose running behind the woman who seems to be unaware of the approaching animal. The occupants of the vehicle tried to shout and warn the woman of the impending threat, but it was too late. Watch the video of the entire incident below.
The victim of this wild moose attack is Tracy Hansen, who was accompanied by her dog, Gunner. Hansen claims she normally walks on this path several times a day, always making it a part of her routine. However, on her third walk of the day on February 16, things would take a wild turn when the aggressive moose decided to trample her.
Hansen told KTUU, “I thought someone had not been paying attention and hit me with a bike or something. I had put my hands up to my head, and I’m like, ‘I’m bleeding.’” As it turns out, Hansen and Gunner had apparently walked past this moose earlier. “Knowing that the moose had been somewhere behind me and now, here this moose is in front of me, and I’m like, ‘Was that the moose?’” Hansen said.
Kate Timmons, who filmed the encounter while she was riding in the car with her family, was also interviewed about the account from her perspective as they helped to divert the moose away from Hansen and Gunner following the attack. “My husband was able to pull her over the snow bank, so we could get her in the truck with her dog and kind of get her out of the way,” Timmons said. “It definitely seemed unprovoked from our standpoint and it happened so fast it was just like, a matter of getting her out of the situation, getting her help, making sure, you know, my big thing was that she didn’t have a head trauma, that there wasn’t a bleed or something.”
Timmons said it was a blessing how she and her family were in the right place at the right time to help Hansen. As you can see in the video, the snow banks on the sidewalk are so tall that people passing by in vehicles may not have been able to see her lying down. “Kate and I were discussing that the Lord put her in the right place, at the right time to be able to help,” Hansen said.
This week, Hansen and Gunner are back at it on their routine of walking this path, undeterred by the attack from this wild moose. Hansen is recovering from staples in her head, bruises, and headaches, but is otherwise uninjured from the event.
Apparently, moose usually flee the presence of humans and only charge when threatened or protecting their young. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:
While moose are generally perceived to be less dangerous than bears, more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year. Moose will usually flee when threatened but under certain circumstances, they can become aggressive. People can be hurt when moose charge, stomp and kick to protect themselves or their young. Understanding a moose’s body language when stressed, can help you stay safe.
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