Elk spotted loose in Tallinn's Nõmme district
The Rescue Board has asked the public to exercise care in the Nõmme area of Tallinn after an elk was spotted roaming around there on Friday morning.
The emergency center was notified shortly after 9 a.m. this morning that the animal had been spotted on Raudtee tänav, a main thoroughfare, and had subsequently taken refuge in the nearby Rahumäe cemetery, around 6 kilometers south of the city center.
Rescue officials in conjunction with the Police and Border Guard Board and the Tallinn Municipal Police Department are assessing the situation, and have described the elk as around two years' age, meaning a young adult, and weighing an estimated 200 kilograms.
The Rescue Board has recommended pedestrians avoid the area as the elk, as a wild animal, may behave unpredictably, and members of the public are asked not to walk their dogs in the vicinity of the Rahumäe cemetery.
Drivers are also asked to exercise caution when driving in the Rahumäe area, as the animal could potentially leap into the road without warning.
When encountering an elk, people should move away from it in a calm manner. Sightings in urban areas or in any location away from an elk's normal habitat can be called in on the state information hotline on 1247. Operators speak English.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
