While bears attacked tourists in Kamchatka, in Yekaterinburg elks left the wilderness to graze in the public parks. Two adult elks and an elk calf frightened the pedestrians and could not be caught by the emergency workers.

Although they were only reported to have been eating grass in public parks and in the streets, it was possible that their behaviour could turn erratic in the face of the multitudes of people. Elks do not see well in daylight, they feel stressed and tend to leap and bounce suddenly. This could cause damage either to elks, or to people.

Eventually, the rescue service has arrived and tranquilised the animals. The transportation posed a new challenge: each elk weighed 300 kilos, whereby special technical equipment had to be used.

All in all, as and when you travel to Russia, make sure you are prepared to meet the wildlife face to face. For various advice, visit our Travel section.

Source: Dni.ru.