New details emerge about the couple's “strange and crazy” deaths

An elderly couple killed by a ram may have died instantly because the impact of the animal's horns was like “a sledgehammer at 80mph”, says the victim's son.

Helge and Gaye Hansen, a husband and wife both in their 80s, were found dead on Thursday morning at their Anzac Valley Road property in Waitakere, New Zealand, where they kept sheep, chickens and cattle.

Gaye's son discovered the pair before the aggressive animal attacked him.

He had gone to see his parents after not hearing from them for several days.

The ram also tried to attack police officers before they shot him dead.

Anthony, Helge's son with ex-wife Jan, said it was “fricky full-on for both of them to be taken out… in such weird, crazy circumstances”.

He said his father was “very careful around rams” because he used to run a sheep farm and knew how ferocious the animals could be during mating season.

“It's pretty brutal – their head is designed to absorb the impact, but it's like a sledgehammer swinging at you at 60 to 80mph,” Anthony told Stuff.

Anthony said the family took comfort in the fact that their deaths had been quick.

“He's gone about what he loved to do and it's gone very quickly,” he said.

“It's something to give us a little more comfort – that Dad didn't suffer.”

Anthony's mother, Jan Hansen, his father's ex-wife, said she believes Helge went out to feed the animals while Gaye cooked dinner.

When he didn't return, she believes Gaye left to investigate.

“That ram must have been waiting for her to come through the gate, I think,” she told the website.

“Don't think animals can't think. A male during mating season can be quite vicious.'

An animal behaviorist has found that ram attacks leave victims with injuries similar to those sustained in a car accident.

Dr Lindsay Matthews, chief scientist at Matthews Research International, said the attacks were rare, with only 11 reports of a person killed by a ram being recorded globally until 2019.

But he said the animals, which can weigh up to 150kg, can attack unexpectedly and at high speed.

“Rams can gouge other males really hard, then back up and lunge at each other, hitting with a cross force to the front of the head,” Dr Matthews told RNZ.

He added: “If you don't keep an eye on them all the time, you can get hit quite suddenly.”

“The reported injuries are likened to being hit by a car.

The death of the elderly couple has been referred to the coroner.

A joint funeral will take place on Wednesday.