CPW believes neighbors were illegally feeding deer that attacked a woman.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating a deer attack in Woodland Park after a 77-year-old woman was followed into her home and subsequently scratched, cut, and bruised by the animal's hooves. The attack happened on Tuesday while she was unloading groceries from her car.
The door was propped open, and the deer, a mature doe, walked in through the open door. CPW said in a press release that the doe started to eat the woman's food in her kitchen and was seemingly unphased by being inside.
The victim, who was unnamed in the release, attempted to scare the deer out of her home by throwing unspecified objects at the animal's hooves. The deer still refused to leave. When the woman turned her back for a moment, the doe reared up and began attacking with its hooves.
The victim suffered several large scratch marks down her back in the incident, as well as other cuts and bruises. The CPW shared an image of the wounds with their press release. The woman managed to stay on her feet during the attack and she was able to shove the deer back outside. However, the doe was apparently undeterred by this action and ran back into the house as the woman tried to remove the prop holding the door.
Once again, the woman was forced to push the doe outside. This time she used a mop and she managed to get the door closed before it could re-enter. She then called CPW officials who responded to the scene to find the deer gone. The victim then informed officials the neighbors had been feeding the animal.
"This is another example of what happens when people feed wildlife," CPW assistant wildlife manager for Pikes Peak region, Cody Wigner said in the release. "They become habituated to people, lose their fear and become aggressive and dangerous."
Officers returned the next morning to find the doe back in the woman's yard. The woman identified the deer that attacked her due to a unique marking. The animal also showed no fear of the officers, who decided to euthanize the animal. A necropsy will be done at a CPW lab, likely to see if the animal was sick.
CPW has been heavily publicizing deer attacks like this lately. The state has seen a surge in incidents like this that seem to be spurred by people illegally feeding the animals. Earlier this year we told you about another woman who was attacked by a young buck being fed by humans.
"This is why it is illegal to feed deer and why we urge people to make them feel uncomfortable in neighborhoods," Wigner said in the release. "The issue is far more serious than ruined landscaping or even the car wrecks deer cause on a daily basis on our roads."
CPW did not state whether there would be fines for the neighbor who allegedly fed the deer, but it seems likely considering CPW cited the woman who fed the buck that attacked a person in 2019.
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