"We got 70 phone calls from people who were afraid of the moose. Because there were several of them. At least three moose had strayed into the city. Unfortunately one of these had to be put down by the wildlife committee, near the Skien Library," operation leader Åge Halvorsen of the Telemark police told news agency NTB.
"It's unusual for three moose to be downtown at the same time," Helge Røssaker told newspaper Varden after felling the moose.
"It is important that people keep their dogs leashed, you can't be reminded of that often enough. And a moose in the city is nothing to fool with, if you meet a moose downtown, retreat and call police," Røssaker said.
The wildlife committee worked in concert with the police to track down the others. They managed to lead two of the animals out of the city and back to the woods.
The large animals had by then wandered through a day care center, and according to reports by NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting), pulled down fences and dented several cars.
After a few hours the situation seemed to be under control.
"At least we haven't had any more calls," Halvorsen said.
