Bear attacks elk at kids' playground

Stunned witnesses looked on in disbelief on Wednesday as a brown bear chased and attacked an elk by a children's playground in Hede in northern Sweden.

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The bear caught up with its prey in the middle of a kids' football pitch in a residential area of the village, located 500 kilometres northwest of Stockholm.

Three young children had vacated the adjacent sandbox just minutes before the bear sank its teeth into the hapless elk, newspaper Östersunds-Posten reports.

Local resident Marianne Bergström watched the drama unfold from her kitchen window.

"The bear caught up with the elk and knocked it to the ground. This happened just about 40 metres from the house. When I went outside it didn't seem to care and starting gnawing at the poor elk, which was trying to get up," she told Östersunds-Posten.

"It was terrible to behold. Fortunately some people came along who were able to put the animal down quite quickly."

Marianne's husband, Jan-Olov Bergström, was driving home at the time of the incident and almost collided with the animals mid-chase.

"It was a full-grown bear. It's strange that it was this close to the village. We've lived here for 34 years and have never heard anything about there being any bears here," he told Östersunds-Posten.

When another car came driving along the road, the bear eventually took fright and retreated to the nearby woods.

Local authorities have said that the bear "behaved naturally" and will not be hunted down.

See also: The great elk/moose debate