Mating Season

Lovesick elk dies in car attack

A male elk has died after attacking a car while out for a walk with an elk cow.

The mating couple were strolling along the road near Arbrå in northern Sweden when Hans Paulsen came up behind them in his car.

On seeing the pair, the driver slowed down. But the elk bull did not take kindly to being disturbed during mating season. He turned around to face the car and suddenly started running.

"He came towards me at top speed," said Hans Paulsen, who stopped the car and honked his horn in an attempt to scare off the advancing beast. But the animal had no intention of retreating.

"When he was right in front of me he dropped his head. I pushed myself up against the side of the car and pulled my cap down over my eyes to protect them from shards of glass," said Paulsen.

The elk ran straight into the parked car. Having smashed the windscreen with its face, the animal rolled over and lay down to die, Ljusdals-Posten reports.

Hans Paulsen survived the attack unharmed. His car however was left needing extensive repair work.

Taken from The Local