'They were following me with their eyes' - woman tries to fight off South Auckland cows with 'wild karate', man who came to her aid has skin ripped off

August 6, 2018
For Lynda Burgess the Government's action plan has come as very sad news.

A jogger and a man who went to her aid were attacked by a herd of cows in a South Auckland park last night, leaving the man in hospital with leg injuries and the woman jogger with bruises.

Aimee Wedgwood has told the NZ Herald she was running on a track in Totara Park, Manukau, and noticed the cows were acting strangely in an ungated paddock that allowed cyclists and runners through via a cattle stop.

"They were following me with their eyes. I was actually on my third loop of the park, I'd passed them two times before," she said.

She said as she backed off she may have startled the cows.

The cows encircled her and she held them off briefly with some "wild karate" but two of them charged at her and rammed her over.

A man came went to her aid with a stick to fend off the cows but he was knocked to the ground and trampled by four cows.

Witness Mike Small told the Herald the man saved the woman before the cows turned on him.

The man had skin ripped off his hamstring and shin, Mr Small said.

The man is reported to be in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital, while Ms Wedgwod said she's grateful to have escaped with a few bruises.

The land is owned by the council and leased by a council-controlled organisation and agency for urban regeneration.

Manurewa Local Board chairwoman Andrea Dalton said the board had already been discussing fencing off all of the tracks from livestock to stop cows trampling and destroying them and, "future plans will focus on that".

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