Wild Animals Invade Moscow; 6 People Hurt

Wild boars, elk and other forest creatures have invaded Moscow and its suburbs, eating park shrubs, scattering commuters at subway stations and injuring six people, two of them seriously, the Izvestia newspaper says.

In June a total of 20 animals have been evicted from downtown Moscow. Besides boars, the list of deportees includes badgers, elks, martens and forest deer.

In one incident a 440-pound wild boar rampaged through Moscow’s Kuzminki Park only eight miles from Red Square in the heart of the city, knocking down five pedestrians, the newspaper said.

Another Muscovite was injured when he approached an elk strolling along the Sadovye Ring road, one of the city’s main thoroughfares.

Hotel Guests Spooked

A wild boar created a stir and scattered commuters when he wandered to the gates of the Rechnoy Vokzal subway station on the northwestern outskirts of the city.

Elk, deer and other forest creatures have spooked guests at the Ukraina hotel in downtown Moscow and at the Arc of Triumph on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, the main road that leads to the Kremlin about two miles away, Izvestia said.

The animals have been found eating grass and shrubs in city parks and gardens.

“Experts explain the month of June is the time when wild animals may venture into cities,” Izvestia said. “It is the season of migration for young animals.

“According to experts, 1980 was the worst year in Moscow, with about 100 appearances of wild animals in the city.”

2-Year-Old Mauled

Large forests dominate the landscape on the outskirts of Moscow, a city of 9.5 million people.

In an unrelated incident, Izvestia said a 2-year-old, Nastya Reshetova, was badly mauled by a bear when the animal walked into the family kitchen in the Siberian village of Khabarovsk.