posted on March 27, 2006 01:32:43 PM newMan Who Was Attacked By Moose Had Vision Issues
By Jesse Sarles, cbs4denver.com
Paul Day
Reporting
(CBS4) GRAND LAKE, Colo. A popular figure in a small Colorado mountain town who was attacked by a bull moose while walking to church suffered from severe sight impairment and may have walked into the animal.
Authorities said an adult moose attacked Louis Heckert on Sunday in Grand Lake, a resort village of about 500 year-round residents 50 miles northwest of Denver on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Heckert, 91, suffered bad head trauma and it is unknown if he'll make a full recovery, hospital officials said. Heckert was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver after the incident, and his condition was upgraded from critical to serious condition on Monday.
Heckert's family said he suffers from macular degeneration, a vision condition that eliminates his central vision. According to CBS4's Dr. Dave Hnida, that means you can't see directly what's in front of you. Family members said they think he may have stumbled right into the moose.
A group of friends and family had just celebrated Heckert's 92nd birthday on Saturday night. His actual birthday is on Wednesday.
Marti Lund, an administrative clerk for Grand Lake, told cbs4denver.com that everyone in the town of Grand Lake is friends with Heckert, whose nickname is the "King of Grand Lake" because of his extensive and long community involvement.
"He's a very popular guy," Grand Lake administrative clerk Marti Lund said. "He's dear to everyone's heart."
The moose was shot and killed by a state Division of Wildlife officer, agency spokesman Randy Hampton said.
Officials said the moose had serious injuries from some previous accident, which could have contributed to its behavior. The moose had five broken ribs on his right side, a punctured chest cavity and several separated vertebrae.
Wildlife information officer Tyler Baskfield told CBS4 it's possible that the animal's injuries may have come from being struck by a vehicle.
The animal appeared to be 5 or 6 years old. He was not weighed, but Hampton said a bull moose of that age could weigh about 800 pounds.
Moose can be aggressive, but such attacks are rare, Hampton said.
"They're big animals. They're not afraid of people," he said.
Aggressive behavior toward humans is more common when cow moose are protecting their young in the summer or during the mating season in late summer or fall, he said.
