A Moose Has Been Spotted in Iowa

There have been several reports along with video and photos of a moose wandering around in Plymouth County, in Northwest Iowa. It was spotted lounging around in a field, a few miles north of Sioux City.

The Iowa DNR says that now and then, a moose will wander into Iowa and they rarely stay long. However, it appears that it is the same moose that was seen in this same area during the same time period in 2021.

It most likely wandered south from Northern Minnesota or North Dakota, which is quite the distance from the normal territory for a moose. According to all-about-moose.com, Male moose have around a 52 square mile home range in winter. Female moose have 18 square mile home range in winter.

Maybe it’s looking for food? A moose will eat up to 70 pounds of food a day. During winter, they will eat bark and twigs as other vegetation will have dried up.

They are the largest member of the deer family. They can be up to seven feet tall at the shoulders and weighing up to nearly two tons and they have very few natural predators. Moose are able to run at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour and are capable of swimming up to 10 miles without stopping.

Moose are not normally aggressive; however, they can become aggressive when they are harassed or when hungry and tired, especially in winter when they must walk through deep snow

The moose population in North America is estimated to be fewer than 1.5 million. There are around 4,000 moose in Minnesota.

The first documentation of moose in Iowa appears to be in October of 1974 when a bull was seen along Iowa Highway 3 near Readlyn and later the same day near Dunkerton. It was then observed ·near Belle Plaine, Chelsea, and Tama. On Halloween of 1974, a bull moose (probably the same animal) weighing nearly half a ton was shot in a com field east of Gilman in Marshall County.