77-year-old fights off attacking deer inside her home — with a mop, CO officials say

A 77-year-old woman was putting away groceries in her home when she turned and came face-to-face with a deer.

The deer followed the woman into her home through a door she had propped open to bring food in from outside, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a Wednesday news release.

The doe made itself comfortable inside the woman’s home, according to wildlife officials. It started eating the food in the kitchen as the woman struggled to get the animal back outside.

“The victim said she threw objects at the deer’s hooves to scare it out, but it wouldn’t retreat,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in the news release. “When she momentarily turned around, the deer reared up and began thrashing her back with its hooves.”

The woman fought off the deer and shoved it out the door.

“However, as she was removing the prop that was holding the door open, the deer ran back inside the house,” Parks and Wildlife said. “The woman then grabbed a mop and used it to push the deer back outside and closed the door. A CPW officer responded to the scene but the deer was gone.”

The woman said she thought her neighbors had been feeding the deer, which Colorado Parks and Wildlife said violates state law.

The deer was identified the next day based on “unique markings” and euthanized.

“This is another dangerous example of what happens when people feed wildlife,” Cody Wigner, Parks and Wildlife assistant area wildlife manager, said in the news release “They become habituated to people, lose their fear and become aggressive and dangerous. This deer showed no fear of the woman and was quite comfortable entering her home.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said “human conflict” with wildlife has increased in Colorado recently. In 2020, there were two deer attacks in the Pikes Peak area.

In June, a 5-year-old boy in Colorado was attacked by a deer while playing with his dad in their backyard, McClatchy News reported.

In October, a deer that was illegally raised by humans gored a Colorado woman while walking her dog near her home, according to McClatchy News.

“This is why it is illegal to feed deer and why we urge people to make them feel uncomfortable in neighborhoods,” Wigner said. “The issue is far more serious than ruined landscaping or even the car wrecks deer cause on a daily basis on our roads.”