Hunter becomes the hunted: Shocking moment wounded elk turns the tables and charges huntsman, stomping him to the ground as his terrified friends watch on
This is the shocking moment a wounded moose turned the tables and attacked a hunter, nearly trampling him to death as his terrified friends looked on.
Footage shows two hunters approaching the moose with shotguns drawn.
But after one of them shot the moose without killing it, the animal launched a ferocious counterattack and charged straight at him.
It struck the hunter with its antlers and hooves, as the man lay helpless on the ground trying to defend himself.
The second hunter, witnessing the huge elk mauling his friend, hesitated to shoot, apparently for fear the animal would turn on him instead.
Meanwhile, a third hunter, who filmed the incident from a vehicle, tried to scare off the enraged moose.
The video of the snow-covered field in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), in the Russian Far East, was taken earlier this month.
Local media did not reveal whether the fighter suffered serious injuries or required medical attention after the attack.
Footage shows two hunters approaching the moose with shotguns drawn. But after one of them shot the moose without killing it, the animal launched a ferocious counterattack and charged straight at him.
It hit the hunter with its antlers and hooves, as the man lay helpless on the ground trying to defend himself.
The elk (cervus canadensis) is the second largest species in the deer family and one of the largest land mammals in its native range in North America and Central and East Asia.
Although the elk’s antlers and velvet are used in traditional medicines in parts of Asia, they are mainly hunted as game species.
This comes after an archery hunter was mauled to death by an angry moose in Oregon, US, three years ago.
Mark David, 66, shot and wounded the moose with a bow and arrow in the Trask Road area, Tillamook County, in August 2020.
David, of Hillsboro, was hunting on private property when he shot the bull elk, but one night he failed to kill the animal.
The hunter was unable to find the injured animal before nightfall and decided to search for it the next day, Oregon State Police said.
The next morning he and the property owner went looking for the moose, but they found the animal alive.
David tried to kill the elk with his bow, but the angry animal charged the hunter and stabbed him in the neck with its antlers.
The second hunter, witnessing the huge elk mauling his friend, hesitated to shoot, apparently afraid the animal would turn on him instead.
Mark David, 66, was mauled to death by a moose (photo) in August 2020 in the Trask Road area, Tillamook County
The owner of the property tried to intervene, but David was fatally injured and died on the spot.
“The landowner attempted to assist David, but he suffered fatal injuries and died,” Oregon State Police said.
The elk was killed and the meat was donated to the Tillamook County Jail after the investigation, police said in a statement.