A hiker in the Austrian Alps died when a herd of cows charged her, while her two daughters survived with injuries […]. The woman was on a hike with her two daughters […] and two small dogs yesterday […] in the Salzburg region when the cow herd charged […]. “It is still not clear what happened,” a police spokesman [said].


This news comes just two days after @TheBananaKing@lemmy.world asked Is it generally safe to walk through a field of cows? on !nostupidquestions@lemmy.world. To cite a response from the thread:

Usually it’s pretty safe except when there are calves on the field. It happens every year that some tourists (especially with dogs) go through a field with calves and their mothers and someone gets injured. - @SRo@lemmy.dbzer0.com

This comment is backed up by a statement from the linked article:

Emergency service personnel cited by Austrian media warned of the danger of dogs getting near cows. “Cows have a very strongly developed maternal instinct and defend their calves,” said an emergency service source cited by news agency APA.