Drunken elk rescued from tree

An inebriated elk, hopelessly drunk on fermented apples, had to be rescued in western Sweden last week after becoming stuck in a tree.

A hunter, police and the fire brigade were called to help free the animal which became tangled in branches in its attempt to reach ever higher for the intoxicating fruit.

Per Johansson of Saro was first to raise the alarm on Tuesday 6th September, when he came home in the dark to hear a loud bellowing noise coming from the garden next door. “I thought at first that someone was having a laugh. Then I went over to take a look and spotted an elk stuck in an apple tree with only one leg left on the ground,” Johansson told The Local.

According to reports, it is believed the elk may have been on an all-day bender. “My neighbour recognised it as the animal that almost ran into her car earlier in the day. She was pretty sure the elk was already under the influence then,” Johansson said.

Drunken elks are common in Sweden at this time of year when rotting apples are in abundance. Mr Johnasson reports that the squiffy beast was kicking ferociously as he approached.

“I thought it looked pretty bad so I called the police who sent out an on-call hunter. But while we were waiting, the neighbours and I started to saw down some of the branches and then the hunter arrived with a saw as well,” he said.

It wasn’t until the fire brigade arrived, however, that a group effort to bend the tree to the ground finally allowed the sleepy creature to slide off. Emergency services confirmed that the animal was still alive as it lay in its unconscious heap, but Mr Johansson and his neighbours were told to keep an eye on the patient throughout the night.

In the morning, however, the groggy animal managed to haul itself up for a crawl of shame out of the garden. “We often see elk stuffing their faces with apples around here but this is the first time we found one perched in a tree,” said Mr Johansson.