A Norwegian hunter was running dogs after moose when he shot not one, but two moose in northern Norway’s Polar Park Arctic Wildlife Centre, near the town of Setermoen.
CNN reported that the man and a group of hunters were following specially trained dogs Oct. 7 when one dog scented the zoo’s moose and entered the property under a fence. The man took his shot through the fence and hit one animal in the chest. The bullet exited the far side of the first moose and hit the second in the stomach. The second animal was later euthanized.
The man claimed to have not known the animals were in a zoo and behind a fence until after the shot.
“We can’t explain what happened, but probably the hunter must have been so eager that he didn’t think,” Polar Park CEO Heinz Strathmann said.
The leader of the hunting group reportedly came to the zoo and explained what had happened.
“I was surprised. I had my mouth open for a while,” Strathmann said. “This has never happened before — and I don’t think it will happen ever again. It is a one of a kind.”
Police did not release the man’s name who shot the moose, but said he was being questioned. The zoo’s superintendent Katrine Grimnes said the man could be prosecuted under a Norwegian hunting law that mandates humane hunting.
Strathmann said the zoo would not press charges since it was an accident, but is asking the group to pay to replace the moose — $3,500 each — and cover the costs of vet bills, transportation, etc., for the dead animals.
Polar Park is billed as the world’s northernmost animal park. It houses elk, reindeer, bears, and two less moose, among other species.
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