There's a moose in Denmark again: A look at the Green Museum's scrapbook

OF THE GREEN MUSEUM / WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

These days, a moose is roaming the forests of North Zealand. More specifically, near Gribskov, where Henning Nielsen and a friend discovered the moose on Monday.

The huge animal is rarely seen in Denmark, but it is far from the first time that we have experienced the moose. Here are a few excerpts from the museum's scrapbook. They involve both Ekstra Bladet and an InterCity train…

 

1933: The first immigrant

Moose have not been known in Denmark since the Stone Age, but in 1933 a cow moose was discovered in the forests of North Zealand. The young cow moose had probably swum across the Sound on its own. However, there were also rumors – even then – that it had been released by a wealthy man from Copenhagen.

The moose, which lived in Denmark until 1951, was seen in large parts of North Zealand, but mostly stayed in Gribskov. The moose cow was seen in the company of the bull moose nicknamed “Den Gale” (a bull moose that came here in September 1946). “Den Gale” was shot in December 1952 by two rangers after the Prime Minister’s Office had granted an exemption from the special protection that had otherwise protected the Danish moose.

 

 

In 1951, the moose cow was found dying in Valby Hegn near Helsinge. It had a large wound on its shoulder. Today, the moose is stuffed and part of the Green Museum's collection.

 

1951: EXTRA BLADE's moose Svea

 

In the run-up to the arrival, the newspaper had given readers the opportunity to submit suggestions for what the new moose should be called. The name was Svea.

 

The same year that the moose from 1933 died, Ekstra Bladet had an idea. And on Thursday, November 1st, the newspaper read that “The moose is coming on Sunday!” The newspaper had decided to introduce another moose to Denmark.

The event is a huge success. Despite heavy rain, 4,000 people turn out, according to Ekstra Bladet, to see the moose arrive.

 

But the release was not a success. Svea was too tame and instead of living in the forest, she sought out built-up areas. She was also aggressive towards people, and after a few stays on a farm in North Zealand, she was sent to a zoo in Randers in 1952 and died shortly afterwards.

1999: Last moose in Denmark – before Monday

Before Monday's discovery, it had been 19 years since the last confirmed moose was seen in Denmark. Here, a moose swam ashore in Hornbæk Plantage. It then migrated south – closely monitored by the press.
The 1999 moose once again created a debate about moose in Denmark – among other things, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) wanted Minister of Justice Frank Jensen to ask the police to take it easy and "call off any form of police hunt for the moose" (Berlingske Tidende, 30/4-1999).
On May 21, 2000, it was the end for the moose. It was hit by an InterCity train near Ringsted. The train driver put it at the time: “There was nothing to be done, you can't swerve around a train.”
There have been rumors of moose in North Zealand on several occasions – in 2001, 2010 and 2012 – but the “new” moose is the first time since 1999 that there has been confirmation of the suspicions.