Deadly Cow Attacks in Switzerland Trigger Fears on Hiking Paths

ZURICH, Switzerland (July 29) -- The idyllic image of gentle mountain paths running along peaceful-looking cows pasturing in the meadows is suffering a blow in Switzerland these days as reports of threatening "killer cows" emerge.

While encounters between the animals and hikers still remain largely untroubled, the occasional accident -- with an angry cow charging, hurting and sometimes killing a person -- is possible.

Last month, an 80-year-old hiker died after being attacked by a bull while he was walking in a field in Neumuhle, near Bern, authorities said.

A few days earlier, a cow killed a 68-year-old woman as she and her farmer husband tried to separate it from its calf. In another dramatic, though luckily not fatal, ordeal, a couple had to be airlifted out of the Jura Mountains with reported injuries after being surrounded by a dozen menacing cows.

Experts say the number of attacks seems to be on the rise and urge joggers and mountain lovers to be more careful when approaching pastures, to prevent bovine encounters from turning nasty.

REGA, the Swiss helicopter rescue service, has issued some behavioral guidelines for hikers, ranging from recommendations to stay on the trail at all times to not turning your back to the animals and keeping pets on a leash.

Cows bred for beef are also less accustomed to human contact than milk cows and can be more aggressive. Etienne Junod, an official with the Swiss Service for the Prevention of Farm Accidents, said in most cases, cows turn into predators to protect the calf.

"In the old days, there was a proximity between animals and humans that no longer exists," Junod, a certified "bovine handler," told AOL News. "Today, the farmers don't deal with the cows bred for beef on an everyday basis, so the animals grow less used to humans.

"Plus, we have more and more mother cows, and these are the ones who cause all the trouble, with a strong mother instinct that may trigger the attack."

Among the measures to steer clear of a charge, Junod lists avoiding looking at the cows straight in the eye, a move that could be perceived as a challenge.

"If a cow sees somebody staring at her, its first thought is, 'Oh, that thing is going to eat me,'" he said. "They don't have the same perceptions as we do, they don't see or hear the way we do, and perhaps an attempt to stroke gently is interpreted as an attack. The public doesn't know this."