A 44-year-old woman was seriously injured Sunday afternoon while hiking on an alpine pasture near Schladming in Upper Styria, after being trampled by a herd of cows. The woman was walking with her husband and their dog from the Giglach Lakes to the Ursprungalm. It appears the dog came too close to the mother cows and was then chased by them. The hiker was flown by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Schwarzach-St. Veit (Salzburg), police reported.
Around 2:15 p.m., the couple and their leashed dog were descending a forest path from the two Giglach Lakes (1,921 meters above sea level) toward Ursprungalm. The dog apparently got too close to the roughly 30 cattle and startled them. The cows chased the dog, which then ran toward its owners. The cows knocked the woman to the ground, causing serious injuries. She was flown to the hospital by emergency helicopter. According to police, there was a clear warning sign at the pasture indicating that mother cows protect their calves.
