City officials in Oslo are doing what they can to keep a hungry moose population from wandering into urban areas. Lately the authorities have once again been serving up hay bales for breakfast at secret moose feeding stations in the woods.
Heavy snowfall has made the past winter even tougher than normal for the moose. Natural food sources are buried under the snow, and hungry moose have headed out of the forests and onto local roads where it’s easier to wander as they search for food.
This has led to a seasonal jump in moose collisions and incidences of often stressed animals finding themselves in unfamiliar territory. The City of Oslo is sponsoring the feeding program to keep moose off roads and behind trees where they belong.
Lars Katzenmaier of the city agency in charge of the forests (Friluftsetaten) told newspaper Aftenposten that one feeding session in the valley called Maridalen attracted around 35 moose. Forestry firm Løvenskiold, which owns much of Nordmarka, has also set up feeding stations in the valley of Sørkedalen and in forests bordering on the western suburb of Bærum, Hakadal and Nittedal.
By Views and News staff