KINGMAN, Ariz. — A woman died after being attacked by an elk near her home in the Pine Lake community in the Hualapai Mountains, according to Arizona Game and Fish Department officials.
Officials believe this is the first deadly elk attack in the state of Arizona.
The woman was found on Oct. 26 by her husband with "injuries consistent with being trampled by an elk," officials with AZGFD said. He told officials when he found her, there was a bucket of spilled corn nearby. Officials believe the attack was related to the feeding of wildlife in the area.
"The public is urged to help keep wildlife wild," a statement from AZGFD said. "Wildlife that are fed by people, or that get food sources from items such as unsecured garbage or pet food, lose their natural fear of humans and become dependent on unnatural food sources. Feeding puts at risk the person doing the feeding, their neighbors, and the wildlife itself."
The woman was first taken to Kingman Regional Medical Center and then to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. Her husband told AZGFD officials that she was put into a medically induced coma due to the severity of her injuries.
AZGFD went to the community where the attack happened and hung warnings on residents' doors which advised people not to approach or feed wildlife. They also visited the site of where the woman was hurt and found elk tracks on the ground.
AZGFD officials were notified that the woman died on Nov. 3. The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death accidental.
According to AZFWD, there have been five reported elk attacks in the state during the past five years, but this was the first fatal attack.
"In 2015, two children suffered minor injuries after a food-seeking elk circled a picnic table from which their family was eating in the Hualapai Mountains," officials said. "In 2021, an adult female received serious head injuries from an elk that was habituated to humans in Pine.
To learn more about the dangers of feeding wildlife, click here.
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