Drunken moose alert in southern Norway
Experts are not sure how it will affect moose behavior, but if you meet Norway's 'King of the Forest' in the southern part of the country, he could be intoxicated - and potentially dangerous.

The 'King of the Forest' - too big not to respect.

PHOTO: Gorm Kallestad


According to a report from the Newspapers' News Bureau (ANB), the reason behind the warning is this year's early snowfall.
A warm summer has led to an unusual bounty from the region's fruit trees. The sudden and early snowfall has left some fruit under snowy cover, while still more remains on the branch. This fruit is fermenting, and also a readily available and tempting source of food for the region's moose.

"This is the first time I have heard that moose are getting drunk. But I assume that they react the same way people do to intoxication - some become harmless while others are the exact opposite," said district veterinarian Paul Stamberg in Kristiansand.

Martin Kolberg, head of the local animal committee in Telemark, warns people to beware of drunken moose.

"Be careful when you approach moose that have been munching apples for days. Their behavior can alter and they can become frighteningly aggressive. Clap and see how it reacts. If it doesn't retreat but instead comes even closer, by all means stay vigilant. It can be intoxicated and attack," Kolberg told newspaper Faedrelandsvennen.

****************************************************************

Flying moose lands on car's roof
A leisurely Sunday drive came to an abrupt halt for a couple in southern Norway over the weekend, when a fully grown moose suddenly landed on the roof of their car.

Related stories:
Hunters shot 85% of moose quota -
Hungry moose head to town -
Drunken moose alert in southern Norway -
Moose pose record-high traffic threat -
"We didn't even have time to think when there came this enormous thud," said a shaken Leo Henriksen after the bizarre incident.
He and his wife were cruising along the two-lane Highway 405 in their little red Mazda. The couple was a few kilometers south of Vatnestrom in Iveland township, Aust-Agder, when their involuntary encounter with the moose took place.

The moose, a female weighing some 350 kilos (770 pounds), apparently had been running through the forest when she suddenly came upon a cliff leading down to the highway.

Unable to stop, the moose seemed to literally fly off the cliff, landing first on the Henriksen's car before catapulting further into the oncoming lane.

The moose-versus-motorist drama ended when Randi Olsen, driving in the oncoming lane with her young daughter, was unable to stop and hit the moose that was now lying in the road.

The moose was dead when wildlife authorities arrived on the scene. Henriksen suffered minor hand injuries, while his wife and the Olsens emerged from the incident without a scratch. Both cars, however, were severely damaged.

Henriksen told the Kristiansand newspaper Faedrelandsvennen that he and his wife lost their house in a fire in mid-January. Now they've lost their car as well, and were hoping for a sympathetic meeting with their insurance agent on Monday.

*******************************************************************

Moose breaks into grocery store
Arne Halberg thought his store was being robbed when its security alarm started howling early Thursday. The prowler turned out to be a moose, who apparently was hungry or confused, or both.
The moose, who may also have been somewhat mentally disturbed, first crashed through the main window of the grocery story in Elverum, just east of Hamar.

The huge animal then made its way past a heavy refrigerated case before it started galloping through the aisles.

The confused moose also had a few accidents inside the store, leaving Halberg with a major mess to clean up.

"It's complete chaos here inside," he told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). "Shelves are torn down, but the worst is all the blood and droppings the moose left behind."

The moose eventually found its way back out of the store and ran off into nearby woods, dazed and wounded.

Wildlife authorities launched a search for the injured animal, which they believe is a calf.

***********************************************************

Scream saves Arctic trapper
An experienced trapper had his night's sleep disturbed when a polar bear smashed in the door of his Svalbard cabin and advanced into the corridor. The stunned outdoorsman quickly realized that his weapons were not loaded and improvised a new method of defense, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reports.

Polar bears are majestic but also a constant worry in Svalbard.

PHOTO: NTB Pluss


Harald Soleim managed to repel the unwanted intruder with a deafening yell.

"I was sleeping peacefully when I was suddenly wakened by a crash," Soleim told NRK.

The trapper quickly understood what was happening, but was also without his rifle, standard security gear in Svalbard. He had two choices.

"Either a quick, strategic retreat into the living room and shut the door - but since my weapons weren't loaded I decided to let loose a fierce roar instead," Soleim said.

The bear backed out the door, turned and ran.

"I think I really scared him. He had taken a jump of 4.75 meters (15.5 feet), which is pretty good," the trapper said.
****************************************************************

Just goes to show that wild life can get too close to urban life:)

LadyR

This post has been edited by LadyRottweiler on Sep 2 2004, 04:57 PM

:lol: I loved the "drunken Moose story, wonder if that hapeens to deer in the US?

:lol: good ones LadyR ^_^ well im off to give a moose some vodka :lol: :P ^_^ there all alcoholics ya know ;) :lol:

Hmmm a drunk moos, hehe wonder if shed be more receptive.

Hey baby wana try inter species ? lol

:lol: Yeah, wouldn't mind picking one up in the pub. :P

Well this is sure a weird story, however, its about the warning signs against moose:

Endangered moose
This familiar Norwegian sight - a traffic sign showing a moose crossing - has become a hot souvenir item for tourists willing to ignore the law. Several hundred of the distinctive signs disappear from Norwegian roadsides every year, newspaper Nationen reports.

The sign warns of "unusually high moose danger" for the next 800 meters.

PHOTO: EINAR SOLVOLL


The wandering moose in a bright red warning triangle is enjoying unprecedented popularity, and they are being stolen at a record rate.

"There are 500 moose signs stolen per year, many of them by Germans," Geir Ove Nordgård of the Public Roads Directorate told the newspaper.

The sale of souvenir stickers depicting the moose sign has been a popular item for years, but now tourists want the real thing, and nearly always opt to steal them.

Euroskilt, the firm that delivers the moose warnings, has only been approached once by a prospective private buyer.

"They were tourists that visited our office," said financial chief Erik Ødeli. "We haven't tried selling signs to tourists."

LadyR

I found a pic too. The writing says: " unusal great danger of ancountering moose"

This post has been edited by LadyRottweiler on Sep 2 2004, 04:09 PM

Attached Image ( Click on thumbnail to view full size image )

wow we have "Deer Crossing" signs here, but a 180lb deer is not like running into a moose. Stealing those signs endanger lives. Running into a Moose at high speed could be life threatening!

Yes, I know:(

We used to live outside a town, and to get from the town to our house its about 10 km with a mix of acres and forrest....I ALLWAYS saw wild life there when going to work early in the morning, and moose, deer and other wild animals arent easy to spot in the dusk, so I allways drove very carefully there. Those farms probably attracted deer and moose because of the hay and other food.
A friend of mine allways drinks his coffee in the morning watching the deers eating, from his kitchen window. Sometimes they even eat the birds food :) And that is kept on a tray on a tall pole, but still they manage to get to it....

He also met one in the barn, after his son had forgot to close the door one nite, the deer was just standing there, eating the hay on the barn floor *lol* Sure gave him a fright. He backed silently out, and the deer came in a certain speed out the barn door and disappeared.

Well, whoever said that the countyside is boring?? :lol:

LadyR

This story I have translated from a Norwegian newspaper. So forgive me if the translation stinks ;) It was so special that I wanted to share it with you.


Dog owner throws himself in the middle of a fight between a wolf and a dog.

Wolfs attacking dogs arent that uncommon, but that they do when the dog owner is standing 2 meters away is pretty rare.

Last Tues day in Åmot in Østedalen (the middle of south Norway) Ole Johnny Hansen was taking out the trash, when a wolf came out of nowhere and attacked. Right behind his back the wolf charged his Elk hound, that was 2-3 meters behind his owner.

Hansen reacted right away and with out thinking:
I threw myself between my dog and the wolf, to separate them. I couldnt think of anything else but to save my dog, Hansen said to NRK.

The wolf ran north up the road and disappeared into the forrest.

It all happend so fast that Hansen didnt have the time to get scared until much later...

" I am pretty shaky, and I think this had a bigger impact on me than on my dog", says Hansen.

The dog luckily only got a few scratches on his neck, but is reported to be in good shape again.

*************************************************************
What we do for our best friends.......I am glad all turned out good!

LadyR

This post has been edited by LadyRottweiler on Sep 2 2004, 05:09 PM

Wow... :o thanx for sharing this story LadyR.

I once ran into the woods with a shotgun when my Labs started chasing a pack of coyotes. But they came back before I got there.

-Mystic-

Thanks for sharing those stories with us Lady R.

We have moose all over up north. Drive 4 hrs north of here and you will see the signs. When Doglet and I were in Algonquin we awoke one morning and there was a moose outside our tent. Probably like 20 feet from it. When I tried ot grab the camera it took off. I ran out of the tent bare foot :lol: trying to find it but it was long gone. Moose are very common over here up north. There are also about 300 Wolves in Algnquin but the only sign of them was some scat. We didn't see them or hear them :(

:lol:

Drunk animals... thats awsome. I have heard some even like to get "high". :D


Wolves attacking dogs are pretty common, but they usually wouldn't do it around a human.

Dogs would defend the master if they were attacked by a bunch of wolves why not the other way around? I would do the same if i were in the position. I normally trvel through the woods with my dogs as far as I have seen wolves are scared of dogs. I have seen many instances when my 2 danes and GSds have chased a pack of wolves. I always have a flair and back up gun. I dont encourage my dogs to chase wolves by they just love chasing around wolves so why stop them from having fun. My dogs like chasing wolves, deers, rabbits. But they have never chased them for hurting or killing them they do it for the fun of it.