An uncommon sight: Wild elk spotted in central Iowa

Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register
·3 min read
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Hidden in the winding back roads of northeastern Madison County is more than just herds of deer and gravel roads. On Wednesday evening, a Winterset man saw a sight not so common in Iowa: a stunning bull elk.

"I have traveled a lot of back roads in Madison County, but I have never seen one of these before," Jared McDonald, the man who spotted the elk, said in a Facebook post Wednesday. "He was absolutely stunning."

Comments on the post boast about how often people see elk in Colorado, where herds still are abundant in the wild.

But in Iowa, this is a special sight.

Elk were once abundant in Iowa, but now are a rare site. Jared McDonald, of Winterset, spotted this elk in rural Madison County on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Elk were once abundant in Iowa, but now are a rare site. Jared McDonald, of Winterset, spotted this elk in rural Madison County on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

Why do elk come to Iowa?

The large mammals were once native to the Great Plains, alongside bison herds and the common white-tailed deer.

Now, according to Polk County Conservation, "In Iowa, only captive herds remain."

"The drastic change in Iowa’s landscape, going from predominantly prairie to almost entirely agricultural, makes it unlikely elk or bison will ever again roam freely across our state," it said.

Iowa has elk herds at Jester Park Nature Center in Granger and the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City. Both herds live alongside bison in fenced-in nature preserves.

But this sighting and others have brought about a new question: Are there more elk in Iowa?

"We see the, (elk) from time to time," said Craig Lonneman, a conservation officer in Madison County. "It's not as unusual as it used to be. We've got, I think, as many as three or four in the state in different locations right now."

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, there are about five to 10 elk sightings reported annually.

As of Nov. 8, 2023, there have been 10 individual reports of elk sightings in Iowa, according to Lonneman. Wednesday's sighting in Madison County brings that total up to 11, he said.

According to an Iowa DNR news release in January, "most of these sightings are in western Iowa due to the proximity of the larger wild elk herd found in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in central and western Nebraska. These visitors tend to be young males conceivably searching for new territory."

More: Gray fox population is declining in Iowa. The DNR wants your help to find out why.

What should I do if I see an elk?

Elk are protected in Iowa, with a $1,000 price tag if they're killed illegally. If you see one, you should contact the DNR to report a sighting.

You can find your local conservation officer with the DNR's county resource guide.

"Use caution," Lonneman said. "If you're observing, do it from a distance, try not to disturb it. Let it live its life. Let it be."

According to the Iowa DNR news release, most elk wander in and out of Iowa with no issues. But not all of their adventures into Iowa have a happy ending.

“An adult elk can weigh between 750-800 pounds with hooves as large as your hand,” Doug Chafa, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR’s Missouri River Wildlife Unit in western Iowa, said in the release.

Hitting an elk is much more devastating than hitting a deer. The average male white tailed deer weighs up to 250 pounds at its heaviest, less than half of the weight of an elk.

Kyle Werner is a reporter at the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A wild elk was spotted in central Iowa in rural Madison County