OutdoorWriter
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EVERGREEN - A woman was taken to a local hospital after she was apparently attacked by a bull elk on Tuesday.
Evergreen Fire officials say the 911 call came into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office around 11 a.m.
Jennifer Churchill with the Division of Wildlife said the 47-year-old woman was in her car leaving her home. She got out of the car to go back inside her house in the Troutdale Estates when the attack occurred.
The woman called her husband on her cell phone. He called 911.
A neighbor and close friend, however, told 9NEWS a different story.
The neighbor, who says she spoke with the victim's husband, says the woman was actually in her yard at the time. The neighbor says the bull elk made the woman nervous, so she called her husband, who works in town, and told him to rush home.
That's when, the neighbor says, the victim's phone cut off and the husband raced home. On the way, the neighbor says the husband called 911.
911 dispatcher: "What's going on there, sir?"
Caller: "A bull elk was attacking my wife. She called me on the cell phone and the last thing I heard was a lot of screams."
On 911 tapes, the husband is heard driving home and then frantically trying to find his wife once he gets there. When he finds her, she tells him she can't remember what happened to her. The husband then tells 911 dispatchers it appears his wife has a broken nose.
When authorities arrived, they found a herd of about 17 elk about 100 yards from the home.
The woman, whose name and condition were not immediately released, was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital for treatment.
Authorities say this is a dangerous time of year to be around elk.
"It is mating time. So they're going to be very protective and very territorial. And just like any wild animal, certainly you don't want to make them feel uncomfortable and make them feel like they're cornered into a position that they need to defend themselves," Evergreen Fire Chief Garry DeJong said.
TONY MANDILE
How To Hunt Coues Deer
Evergreen Fire officials say the 911 call came into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office around 11 a.m.
Jennifer Churchill with the Division of Wildlife said the 47-year-old woman was in her car leaving her home. She got out of the car to go back inside her house in the Troutdale Estates when the attack occurred.
The woman called her husband on her cell phone. He called 911.
A neighbor and close friend, however, told 9NEWS a different story.
The neighbor, who says she spoke with the victim's husband, says the woman was actually in her yard at the time. The neighbor says the bull elk made the woman nervous, so she called her husband, who works in town, and told him to rush home.
That's when, the neighbor says, the victim's phone cut off and the husband raced home. On the way, the neighbor says the husband called 911.
911 dispatcher: "What's going on there, sir?"
Caller: "A bull elk was attacking my wife. She called me on the cell phone and the last thing I heard was a lot of screams."
On 911 tapes, the husband is heard driving home and then frantically trying to find his wife once he gets there. When he finds her, she tells him she can't remember what happened to her. The husband then tells 911 dispatchers it appears his wife has a broken nose.
When authorities arrived, they found a herd of about 17 elk about 100 yards from the home.
The woman, whose name and condition were not immediately released, was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital for treatment.
Authorities say this is a dangerous time of year to be around elk.
"It is mating time. So they're going to be very protective and very territorial. And just like any wild animal, certainly you don't want to make them feel uncomfortable and make them feel like they're cornered into a position that they need to defend themselves," Evergreen Fire Chief Garry DeJong said.
TONY MANDILE
How To Hunt Coues Deer
