Several “Drunk” Moose Stop Swedish Man from Entering Home
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.03.13
A Stockholm, Sweden resident was barred from entering his home last Tuesday by a group of moose. The group contained four adult moose and one calf, who began acting strangely and provoked the man to call police. According to The Local, the police incident report stated that the moose was possibly drunk at the time from having eaten fermented apples on the property.
“I’m not surprised that he called the police when he was faced with a gang of five drunken [moose],” police spokesperson Albin Näverberg told The Local. “They can be really dangerous. They become fearless. Instead of backing away when a person approaches, they move toward you. They may even take a run at you.”
The moose had already left by the time police officers arrived at the house. They advised the homeowner to remove the apples laying around his lawn and keep a careful eye on his apple tree to avoid a repeat of the encounter.
Incidents of drunk moose have been reported in Sweden before, such as an incident in 2011 where another moose was found intoxicated and trapped in a tree. Fermented apples were also involved in that case and the animal was found to be confused and sick.
“If there is a lot of fermenting fruit, then we get a lot of calls about drunken [moose]. But most often they’re gone before officers arrive,” Näverberg said.
Moose are commonly referred to as elk in Europe, where they can be found commonly in Scandinavia and Russia. The interchangeability of this terminology has caused much confusion -and some hilarity- between the two sides of the Atlantic.
