A six-months-pregnant woman has been mauled to death by dogs as she went for a walk in the woods in France.

Elisa Pilaski, 29, was found dead by her husband on Saturday afternoon in the Forest of Retz, north of Paris, where she had been walking her own dog Curtis.

An autopsy carried out on Monday found she bled to death sometime between 1pm and 1.30pm from bites on her upper and lower limbs and head from multiple dogs.

Some of the bites occurred while she was still alive, while others happened after she died, local newspaper L’Union reported.

Police are investigating whether a pack of hunting dogs that were in the forest at the time could have been responsible, and have taken DNA samples from the animals.

Samples were also taken from dogs belonging to the victim including the dog she was walking at the time, and tests are still being carried out, local media reported.

The woman had called her husband during her walk to say that she was worried a pack of dogs was going to attack, TVA Nouvelles reports.

Her husband left work at Charles de Gaulle airport, in Paris, and arrived at the scene 45 minutes later where he found her mutilated body.

Ellul followed the howls of Curtis, who survived the attack, to find Ms Pilaski’s remains.

Police say it is possible the woman was attacked by stray dogs or even her own animal, and have refused to rule out any possibilities.

The Forest of Retz is one of France’s largest and covers about 13,000 hectares.