[chris]

A moose knocked down and injured a 2 1/2-year-old boy at Pine Beach in Grand County, Colorado, on Sept. 2, 2010, then kept running along the shore of Shadow Mountain Reservoir near Grand Lake, according to Colorado wildlife officials.

The boy was playing with his older brother at the popular swimming spot around midday when the animal struck him from behind. He suffered what initially appeared to be a minor head injury.

The child was flown by helicopter from Granby Medical Center to Children's Hospital in Denver. He was alert and crying during the transport, said Randy Hampton, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Hampton said the moose, believed to be an adult female, did not stop after the collision. "The moose kind of ran over him and kept going," he said, adding that officers did not believe the animal was attacking the boy.

Division of Wildlife officers and Grand County sheriff's deputies searched the area that afternoon and planned to euthanize the moose if it was found, but the animal was not located. A cow moose with twin calves had been reported in the area in the days before the incident, though officials could not confirm it was the same animal.

The boy was released from the hospital and was recovering well, his family said. Grand County authorities concluded the encounter was likely an accident, noting moose have poor eyesight and the animal may not have seen the boy, or may have been fleeing something else when it ran into him. Hampton said his office receives a handful of reports of moose encounters in the area each year, though most do not result in injury. Warning signs about moose activity had been posted near the reservoir after several recent sightings, including a bull and a cow with calves.