Students, teachers, and parents at a Canadian elementary school were shocked when a nearly-800lb. moose smashed through a glass window and settled into classroom full of children on Thursday.
The confused animal had wandered away from its nearby natural habitat and appears to have ‘panicked’ and smashed its way into the Sylvia Fedoruk School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where children were quickly ushered away, according to the CBC.
Only one child sustained minor injuries, and the moose was soon tranquilized and released back into a safer area — and locals are now calling it ‘a quintessential Canadian story.’
Looking to learn? A nearly-800lb. moose smashed through a glass window of an elementary school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Thursday
The incident happened just before 9 a.m., with the nearly-two-year-old moose — estimated to be on the small side at 750 to 800 lbs. — broke through a large glass window and then settled on the floor.
The room was being used for a before-school program run by an external provider.
According to local parent Jayme Melnyk, whose son was attending daycare across the hall, the woman in charge of the children in the classroom was able to safely get them out.
No one was seriously injured, with one child sustaining minor injuries and declining medical help.
‘This is a case where, due to stress I believe, there is some pets and some dogs that caused the problem,’ Steve Dobko, an inspector with the conservation officer service for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, added to Canada’s Global News.
‘And the moose started running and ended up in this area at the school where it obviously panicked and went through a glass window.’
Safe! Children at Sylvia Fedoruk School were ushered away and there were no serious injuries
Conservation officers arrived and tranquilized the moose within 45 minutes and brought it outside, later releasing it into its natural habitat, which wasn’t far away.
Though the moose appears to have suffered the worst in the incident, it was certainly a dramatic day for all involved.
‘We’re still kind of all in shock about it,’ Veronica Baker, a spokeswoman for Saskatoon Public Schools, told the New York Times.
‘Little bit more than just another day,’ Dobko said. ‘It was a little excitement this morning for the staff here at the school and the children. I’m sure some of the children will be frightened by what they’ve seen.’
Several adults on the scene managed to capture photos and videos of the moose, including Ashley Young, who was driving her kids to school when one of them spotted the animal.
‘My youngest yells out the window, “Mom, there’s a moose.” And of course, I’m like, “No, there’s not a moose. What are you talking about?”‘ she told Global News.
Outta there: Conservation officers arrived and tranquilized the moose within 45 minutes and brought it outside, later releasing it into its natural habitat, which wasn’t far away
O Canada! Locals are now calling it ‘a quintessential Canadian story’
‘And he said, “I’m not kidding this time.” Sure enough, I drove back around and I saw a moose in the window just kind of standing there,’ she said.
‘It’s not very often that happens, especially in an instance like this … and I thought it was kind of neat. I mean, it’s good knowing now that nobody was hurt and they were able to get it out safely,’ she added. ‘But yeah, something you don’t see every day that’s for sure.’
Dobko, the inspector with the conservation officer service, said that locals had begun spotting the moose earlier that morning, with a call coming in to report it at 5:30 a.m.
One conservation officer was sent out to track the moose, and was spotted following it down an alley before it made it to the school.
Another eyewitness, local radio host Pat Dubois, saw the moose on his way to work and later asked his listeners at 92.9 The Bull to watch out for it.
‘It’s just kind of a quintessential Canadian story,’ he told the Times. ‘Once we found out that the students were OK, and that while the moose was slightly injured, it was going to be OK, then we kind of got a chance to laugh a little bit more.’
Too funny! The story has inspired quite a lot of jokes on Twitter
The story has inspired quite a lot of jokes on Twitter.
‘New rule: the kid who lured the moose there so the test would get cancelled gets an automatic A for profound creativity,’ wrote one.
‘Luckily they have active moose drill so no one was hurt,’ said another.
‘Assuming he didn’t stop at the office to get a visitor’s pass???’ wrote a third.
Several said the poor animal just wanted to learn, guessing he was taking up subjects like algebra, biology, and Critical Moose Theory.