“His kisses are very wet. They’re intense,” is one of the
first things Leffe Lindh says to me as he shows me a photograph of himself
smooching his favorite moose on the lips.
He was introduced to me as “the man who sleeps with moose.”
I just didn’t know what to make of that, or where to even begin asking him
questions.
It turned out I didn’t have to. The moment we began
chatting, he was perfectly forthcoming with the entire story.
Lindh began caring for and raising moose in the small town
of Gardsjo in Sweden, 185 miles from Stockholm, more than two decades ago.
Today he owns and operates the Gardsjo Moose Park,
a sanctuary where visitors can get up close and personal with the wild
creatures.
Last year he began allowing overnight guests to actually
sleep within the moose park. For a rate of 500 euros a night, visitors can stay
right in the midst of the moose. There is a tall fence surrounding the cottage
to protect guests, but the moose mosey right up to it. Moose can jump up to 6
feet and run more than 35 miles an hour, so it is best if the average guest has
a barrier. The small cabin can sleep five people very snugly, two comfortably.
There is no television, no Wi-Fi and no mobile connection. Guests can leave
only when Lindh comes to fetch them.
Moose are elusive. Though the moose population in Sweden is
approximately 300,000, it is rare for a visitor to actually see the creatures,
much less have any kind of interaction with them.
Lindh has tried to change that.
