Hungry moose wanders into Alaskan hospital, snacks on plants

A moose wandered into a hospital building in Alaska's largest city and chowed down on some plants in the lobby as workers watched the massive animal in awe.

When a patient mentioned that security staffers were monitoring a moose that got inside the Anchorage building Monday, Stephanie Hupton dashed out and started recording.

"Didn't think we'd have a pet moose," said Hupton, who works in billing at a physical therapy office inside a building attached to Alaska Regional Hospital.

The footage shows the moose browsing around some greenery near an entrance before it stands gazing at the camera's direction. It briefly lingers before sauntering out through an open door.

Hupton said she never felt threatened by the mellow creature. It was an experience she never expected when she moved to Anchorage three years ago from Carroll, Iowa.

"It's definitely different than small-town Iowa," she said.

The moose got inside through doors that were stuck open because of extreme cold in Anchorage, where temperatures hovered around 17 C Monday, hospital spokeswoman Kjerstin Lastufka said.

The plants in the warm lobby were likely inviting to the animal, who ate some of them before leaving after about 10 minutes, Lastufka said.

The moose caused no injuries or any big problems, other than the snacking.

"It was a pretty calm visit," Lastufka said.