VIENNA, Austria (AFP) - An eleven-year-old boy in Austria wearing no shoes lost a toe when the cow he was trying to stroke stepped on his foot, police said on Thursday.

The German boy, on holiday in Tyrol in western Austria, was playing with other children in an Alpine meadow on Wednesday evening when the animal approached them.

"The boy had no shoes on and wanted to pet the cow. He must have got too close because she stood on his left foot," police said in a statement.

"Because of the weight of the cow, one of his toes on his left foot was severed," police added. He was flown by helicopter to hospital.