In Tornio, the moose that stayed in the urban environment have been scaring the townspeople all winter long. On Wednesday, Katja Simula was attacked by them.
A native of Tornio Katja Simula encountered a moose that scared three townspeople on Wednesday and ended up in hospital.
“On Wednesday around noon, I was jogging with our golden retriever on the ice of Tornionjoki. Then I noticed about 50 meters away from us a moose and two mallards. At that point, I prayed that the dog wouldn't notice them,” says Simula.
However, the dog spotted the moose and started towards them despite Simula's screams.
“At some point, the dog realized how big the moose were. The dog didn't get very close to the moose when it already turned to come to me. At the same time, the moose also started pressing towards me, their ears pricked up.”
A simulation says that he tried to scare the moose away with shouts, but they did not slow them down.
“There was no time to do anything about it. I threw myself on the ground and tried to protect my face and head. I just tried to pretend not to move.”
Simula isn't sure what exactly happened when the moose came at him. He says that he wondered if the mother ran over him with her paws.
“There were small breaks between the strikes,” he says.
Earlier on Thursday, the chairman of the Tornio game management association Mark Kasala told apparently kicked by deer Simulate.
Simula says that he got contusions and bruises especially on his limbs. There is also a bruise on his cheek, even though he tried to shield his face.
“The hoof has apparently come close to the head. The calf has the worst wound, ten centimeters long and deep. Fortunately, no bones were broken.”
Simula lay on the ground for a while and listened to the sounds. When nothing was heard anymore, he dared to raise his head. The moose was no longer visible, and the dog that had run away was running towards its owner.
“I immediately called the emergency number. I must have been so shocked that I didn't feel how badly it hurt me. I was able to crawl a couple of hundred meters to the river bank to my home, where the ambulance arrived.”
Simula was taken to the hospital, from where he was discharged on Wednesday evening.
A day after the attack, Simula describes feeling “as if caught under a roller coaster”.
“No one wants this to happen to them. I'm still sensitive to the thought of what could have happened at the worst,” he says.
In the tower in the urban environment, several elk washes have been staying throughout the winter.
The Game Management Association has received several calls from fearful townspeople about moose, and attempts have been made to drive them away from the urban area. The game management association has previously received permission from the police to knock one down, and now, after Wednesday's attack, they got permission to knock down another, said chairman Kasala on Thursday.
Simula hadn't seen moose living in the built-up area before, but he had seen tracks. Wednesday's meeting took place on the ice of Tornionjoki in the village of Pirkkiö in Tornio.
“I am surprised why no dumping permits have been issued before. The moose have been running around in the urban area, where children also move around. What could have happened if a small child had been the target of the attack,” says Simula.
Simula says that he was very frightened by the encounter.
“This will leave quite a few traumas, even though it is a rare case. Fortunately, I survived with such little damage, but I don't know when the next time I'll feel like going for a run on the ice.”
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