Elk goes for afternoon run along Lääne-Viru County beach
An elk trotting along a beach in a picture-postcard fishing village on Estonia's north coast is the latest interesting wildlife spot, Virumaa Teataja (VT) reported.
Friday afternoon and the beach in the Lääne-Viru County village of Võsu was quiet, given the inclement weather – Joonas Koppel, head chef at the Reute restaurant in the village, was busy in the kitchen when a strange sight greeted him as he looked out of a window.
It was nothing less than an elk, cantering along the sand before taking a look among the pine trees and then continuing its seaside run in the direction of Käsmu, Võsu's "twin" village.
Had the ungulate stepped inside the restaurant, it would have been the first customer of the day – though with herbivorous dishes such as fire-grilled romaine lettuce with a tomato demi-glace on offer, it might not have been disappointed.
The area is in dense forest near Lahemaa National Park, so wildlife encounters are common, though Koppel said it was the first time he had seen an animal as large as an elk out and about on the beach.
VT carries a video of the incident.
Elk (Alces alces), known in North America as moose, numbered an estimated 11,000 in Estonia in 2023.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Postimees
