Police officers on a recent emergency call in Eastern Finland barely avoided a collision with an elk (known as a moose in North America). The driver first saw one elk on the side of the road. As the police patrol approached the scene, another animal appeared near the road.
The driver managed to manoeuvre the vehicle between the two elk, with one running right in front of it and the other just behind the car.
At the time of the incident, the police were driving at about 100 kilometres an hour due to an urgent alarm. The speed limit in the area is 80 kph, at least until winter begins.
When the patrol stopped for a moment next to the road, a third elk approached and headed for the road.
Incident caught on dashcam
The situation was recorded on the dashboard camera of a police car, with one of the officers capturing the screen view on his mobile phone.
The Eastern Finland police department shared the video on Facebook on Tuesday as a reminder that elk are on the move. Police urge motorists to exercise moderate speeds and be especially alert at this time of year.
"Traffic safety is also important for the police, as our patrols must get to their destinations intact. We shared this video to remind you that if you slow your speed by a quarter, then your braking distance is halved," says police constable Ville Hokkanen of the Eastern Finland Police.
A European elk (Alces alces) – known in North America as a moose – can weigh up to 700 kg.
According to the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Finland's elk population declined by around 10 percent last year to just over 82,000 animals.
