The host and a cameraman for Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)’s popular nature program “Ut i naturen” got much more than they’d dreamed of when they traveled to the mountain area of Folldal this winter. They hoped to capture some video of moose to illustrate a story about unusually large moose in the forests, and ended up hitting the jackpot.
Program leader Kari Toft and photographer Geir Olav Slåen said they were driving in Dalholen in Folldal, between Dovre and Østerdalen, when they stopped to film from the side of the road. Suddenly a large moose slowly crossed the road in front of them. The moose was followed by another, and another, and another … so many, in fact, that it was easy to lose count.
“There are a lot of moose up here, so it’s not unusual to see large flocks, but this was really amazing,” Slåen told NRK’s website, nrk.no, over the weekend.
A lush summer, mild winter and good grazing opportunities have literally made many of Norway’s moose even bigger than normal this year. Toft also attributed the increased size of the moose, who already can make a full-grown horse seem small, to abundant grazing in the summer last year, genetics and hunting techniques that have led to the largest moose being spared.
The animals roam from the valleys up to the mountains during summer and down again in the winter. Their “Ut i naturen” (Out in the nature) program on the topic, which will air on NRK1 Tuesday evening, prompted them to head for Dovre and Dalholen in January.
“We could see moose out on the fields and in the forest, and when we stopped the car to film from the side of the road, moose started streaming out of the forest,” Toft said.
The resulting video was unique, with more than dozen moose striding up from the side of Highway 29 and over to the other side. See the video on NRK here (external link), along with more of Slåen’s unique photos.
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
