Aggressive moose injures 2 visitors near Alaska campgrounds

A cow moose with two calves has injured at least two visitors at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that park staff members have been urging visitors to be wary of the wildlife after the moose’s defensive and erratic behavior near Riley Creek Campground over the last several weeks.

The moose sometimes ignores nearby visitors and other times charges from a distance.

"She is being unusually unpredictable," said Denali spokeswoman Kathleen Kelly. "At one point somebody can walk by and she doesn't care. The next minute she can charge somebody who is 50 yards away."

One incident sent a woman to the hospital for treatment.

She was taking pictures of the moose and the calves when it became aggressive and charged the crowd said Kelly. The woman fell down and the moose brought its hoof down, grazing her ear and striking her shoulder

The same moose gave minor injuries to another visitor.

Wildlife technicians attempted to scare the moose away from the campground multiple times, even using clear paintballs to encourage it to leave, said Kelly.

But the moose kept returning.

"We're focused on managing the visitors rather than trying to manage the moose at this point," Kelly said. "We're really trying to send out a message on how to behave around wildlife."

The parks said more visitors are hurt by moose each year than by bears.

The Associated Press contributed to this report