Drunk Moose Terrorize Sweden: Public Left With Questions, Antlers

Looks like Sweden could benefit from a chapter of Elkoholics Anonymous.

A scourge of drunk moose are terrorizing the nation, multiple media outlets report.

Earlier this month, a resident of Ingaro, an island in the suburbs of Stockholm, found himself unable to enter his home due to a gang of five inebriated moose blocking the door, according to the Metro.

Officials said the antlered menaces became intoxicated after eating rotten apples from the homeowner's garden. Apparently, this is a recurring issue for local law enforcement when the apples start falling from the trees in autumn.

"If there is a lot of fermenting fruit," police spokesman Albin Naverberg said, according to the Local, "then we get a lot of calls about drunken elk."

"Elk" in British English -- "alg" in Swedish -- refers to what are known as "moose" in North America.

He noted that the huge animals "can be really dangerous" and become "fearless" after consuming the fermented fruit.

Sometimes, the animals are a danger to themselves. Stockholm police officer Ulf Lindgren told The Local that Monday, one belligerent moose got into a brawl with a swing set.

"He had gotten his horns tangled in the chains and was stuck in the swing set," Lindgren said.

The animal eventually managed to get himself free, but not before moving the swing about 820 feet from the rest of the playground.

The officer noted that officials are not 100 percent certain the moose in this case was drunk, but "drunken [moose] are not that unusual."

They definitely aren't new this year.

In 2011, Swedish rescue workers rushed to the aid of a drunk moose tangled in a tree.

Moose aren't the only ones getting tipsy, though. That same year, German officials treated an owl found staggering around, eyelids drooping, after drinking two bottles of Schnapps.

Really, though, anything is better than drunk wasps, which the Red Cross says are descending on Britain this year in record numbers.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article stated that the drunk, antlered animals causing mayhem in Sweden were elk. The animals called "elk" in British English -- and "alg" in Swedish -- are known in North America as moose. The story has been updated to reflect this information.