Here’s one you have to wrap your head around a bit. Two hunters in Northern Norway shot and killed two moose with one bullet before realizing the animals were actually in a zoo.
How exactly this happened is still largely unknown as reports have not surfaced from the hunters themselves. The story comes from two sources, which have discrepencies as to whether the hunters shot two moose according to CNN or two elk, according The Local, both of whom apparently spoke with park officials. Maybe it was a language barrier. Anyway, the other parts of the story are the same.
The hunters were using dogs outside the Polar Park Arctic Wildlife Center on Oct 7 in a legally permissible area to hunt when the dogs tracked on two moose, or elk, or whatever. Somehow the animals got within the enclosure and one hunter fired a shot without realizing the animals were within in an enclosure.
“We can’t explain what happened, but probably the hunter must have been so eager that he didn’t think,” said Polar Park CEO Heinz Strathmann. Apparently, a single bullet passed through the first moose and struck a second moose in the stomach, which later had to be euthanized.
“I think this is very sad, and it’s not okay. We had five elks, now we have only three,” he told The Local.
Everyone at the park was shocked when the incident occurred, calling a freak accident. How exactly the hunters did not see the fence is still unknown as the identity of the men has not been release. Neither has a statement, but you can imagine a few scenarios. An elevation change and brush could obscure sections of the fence line.
If nothing else, striking two animals with one bullet is not good hunting practice. In Norway hunters must take a proficiency test at age 16 to possess a firearm so hunting accidents are relatively rare.
Even before the investigation had concluded, park officials were already forgiving the culprits. They just want their two moose replaced.
“We have to buy two new moose, the cost of the vet, autopsy, transportation and destruction,” he said. A moose costs about 30,000 Krone or $3,500 to buy, he said according to CNN.
