Janek Teinlum, a fisherman in Juminda, Harju County, was out at sea in his boat over the weekend when he made the apparently unusual sighting.

"I was out on my usual flounder fishing trip and had just started pulling in my nets. I was hauling the net into the boat when I suddenly noticed a couple of black dots coming from the open sea. I zoomed in with my phone and thought, 'Wow, those are moose,'" Teinlum told "Aktuaalne kaamera".

While the sight may appear unusual, locals in the Juminda peninsula area have seen moose swimming before, usually to get from A to B rather than taking the long route over land.

Lauri Klein from the Environment Agency (Keskkonnaagentuur) said that the species are actually excellent swimmers.

"Who wouldn't want to cool off in the sea during the hot weather? We all do it. Generally, moose have no problem swimming very long distances. They swim to islands the same way, and from one peninsula to another. Quite often, it's actually a shorter swim from the tip of one peninsula to the next than taking the long way around a bay," Klein said, on site at the Juminda peninsula, at the western edge of the Lahemaa National Park.

The animal is capable of swimming over 10 kilometers, though as with people, some individuals like aquatic excursions more than others.

"When they do their usual swimming laps, it's about a five-minute loop. They go into the water here between the rocks, swim a lap in the sea, and come back. It's quite a spectacular sight," Teinlum said.

Despite their calm appearance, people should under no circumstances try to swim up to or alongside a moose in the water, Teinlum warned. They are large ungulates X; wild animals which can behave unpredictably.

"If something agitates it, it will pin its ears back, and then it may lash out with its hind legs. A kick from a moose's hind leg can be fatal," Klein warned.

The original "Aktuaalne kaamera" segment (in Estonian) is below.

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