Two moose likely roaming in region
Oct. 24—NEW ULM — Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' regional staff suspect there's more than one moose on the move in the region this week.
"We've been discussing everything we've put together, and we strongly suspect there are two," said Dan Ruiter, the Department of Natural Resources information officer for the state's southern region.
"We are hoping they are just young males looking for new territory ... that they aren't sick," he said.
Officer Matthew Gangelhoff said it's been several days since the Lake Crystal Police Department has received reports of a moose on the outskirts of town. The young bull that recently spent a few days across the road from POET bioprocessing company apparently is now heading toward the Minnesota-South Dakota border. He was last seen near POET's grounds around Oct. 11-12.
Unconfirmed sightings have tracked him near Nicollet and Courtland. On Thursday, an animal fitting that bull's description was photographed running across a harvested field in rural New Ulm.
"A moose was spotted near my hometown, Lake Wilson, on Saturday," Ruiter said. "It looks like he's heading straight west along Highway 30."
Odds are slim the reports are for the same animal because the calls came in from within a 100-mile radius.
Ruiter said when local Minnesotans spot a moose, they can call in a report at: 507-386-3920.
If either moose's westward journey includes a climb through and over the Buffalo Ridge's steep terrain into South Dakota, he will find himself in the territory of an expert in the deer family species, Alces alces.
William Severud is an assistant professor in South Dakota State University's Department of Natural Resources Management in Brookings. A Twin Cities native, Severud saw his first moose years ago at Voyageur National Park.
The young bull's visit to Lake Crystal was one of a handful of unexpected sightings of male moose throughout the southern and western regions of the state this fall, Severud said.
He guessed they have been searching for mates.
"This is the time of year when young males are in rut," he said.
Severud said it's also a possibility they are victims of brainworms. The animal reported near Lake Crystal as well as in Iowa and Nebraska appears to be "quite lost." An inability to navigate is one indication that an animal's brain is infested with a parasite.
Although a moose may look healthy and is able to move around and to eat, eventually a victim's nervous system will shut down, Severud said. "As things progress, infected moose become paralyzed."
If a moose dies along its errant trail, a scientist's hope is that whoever finds its body files a report with authorities.
"Then its brain and blood can be tested," Severud said.
If the region's "moose on the loose" make it to SDSU alive, they would not be the first of the species to visit Brookings.
"Two years ago, a moose was on campus running around on the football field. Lots of people made videos of him," Severud said.
