Swedish man rescues baby elk from cold creek

Timber buyer Jan-Erik Berglund was walking along a creek after inspecting a property west of Piteå, northern Sweden, when he saw some ripples in the water. 

At first he thought it was a beaver, but on closer inspection he noticed a little elk that had swum onto a branch.

“He was worn out and was really just floating,” he told Aftonbladet.

After reflecting that the animal would probably freeze to death, he decided to brave the cold water himself to rescue the creature.

“It was really cold and it had rained so much up here that the only chance he had was for me to help him up,” he said.

Positioning his camera in view of the creek, Berglund took off his clothes and waded over to the distressed elk. Grabbing hold of the animal, he tried to throw him up onto the side of the creek.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, the elk finally managed to scramble up onto dry land and ran off into the distance.

“It ran away, probably both scared, confused and everything. I hope that it dried and regained warmth,” Berglund said, adding that it felt good to perform such a deed.

The whole rescue mission was caught on camera, and the clip has since been shared by several major news sites in Sweden.

Älgkalv räddad i bäckdrama from Sveaskog on Vimeo.

Elks are constantly getting themselves into tricky situations in Sweden. Last July a wandering elk wandered into a family house in the south of the country. But after making itself at home the animal had to be put down due to grisly injuries sustained during the break-in.

And last June The Local reported how children in western Sweden fled a classroom after an elk broke through a window.

Most famously, an elk that got drunk on fermented fruit got stuck in an apple tree.