Updated September 4, 2025 02:30PM
A Fatal Attack in Austria Is a Grim Reminder of a Danger Most Hikers Ignore
A herd of cattle reportedly trampled an 85-year-old man as he hiked with his wife and dog.
Cow along Austrian trail (Photo: Christoph Hetzmannseder / Moment via Getty)
On Sunday, an 85-year-old man died following an animal attack he suffered while out on a hike with his wife and his dog in the Austrian province of Styria. The surprising killer: cows.
Markus Lamb, a local police spokesman, told AFP that a herd of nine cows, including three calves, charged the party. Hikers in the area were able to administer first aid after the attack before the couple was taken to a Salzburg hospital. The man died of his injuries before he was able to receive surgery.
Although cows might seem like an unlikely killer, this isn’t the first time that a hiker has lost their life in a cow attack. In 2024, a woman who was hiking with her dog in Austria was attacked and killed by a herd of cattle.
In 2019, Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced that the province would establish a new, legally-binding code of conduct for those who visit the mountains in the area. The code requires hikers to keep a distance from cattle and to hike with their dogs on a leash, (unless attacked, in which case dogs should be released).
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The code of conduct was established after another 2014 bovine incident claimed the life of a German tourist in Tyrol, which resulted in a farmer paying €490,000 to the tourist’s family and enraged other farmers in the region.
While cattle have made headlines many times in Austria’s mountainous regions, the U.S. has seen its fair share of cow attacks, too. In the summer of 2023, Boulder County Parks & Open Space issued a warning in Colorado after cows attacked two different runners on local trails. In one incident, a cow headbutted the runner, surprising them but leaving them uninjured. In a second incident, cattle circled a jogger before attacking her and landing her in the hospital.
That same year, a number of Continental Divide Trail hikers reported feral cow encounters in Gila National Forest, New Mexico. In response, the Forest Service announced that it would “lethally remove” the feral cattle, which had exhibited aggressive behavior towards humans in the past. While the Center for Biological Diversity attempted to thwart lethal action against the cows, a federal judge upheld the decision to allow Forest Service personnel to dispatch the animals earlier this year.
And in 2020, an elderly couple was airlifted in California after a cow chased them in Solano County Park while they were hiking. Rescuers sounded a helicopter-mounted alarm to chase the cows away before extracting the couple.
Some research has indicated that cows are more lethal than bears and sharks combined. There are only roughly two to three fatal grizzly attacks in North America every year. Comparatively, cows—which are much more common—kill 20 to 22 Americans annually. While cattle are generally docile, they will charge, kick, or trample humans when they feel threatened or they are protecting calves.
The best way to protect yourself from cows while hiking is to give them a wide berth, ensuring that you never pass between a calf and its mother. Remain watchful for threatening behavior. Aggressive indicators can include lowering the head, snorting, pawing the ground and rounding the shoulders.
