Wait! First Moose, Now Elk Being Spotted In Southern Minnesota?

What is going on here? Moose being spotted in Iowa and Minnesota, now it appears there is at least one elk that made its way into Southern Minnesota. Outdoor News shared the trail camera picture that will leave you scratching your head as to why this elk is so far south!

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Tim Meyer was flipping through his game cameras from his southwest Minnesota property on the morning of Nov. 21. He got halfway through before seeing a picture that shocked him. It was a five-by-five bull elk.

The shared photo by Outdoor News states that the pictured elk was spotted in Lyon County, which is located in Southwestern Minnesota, quite a ways from places like Marshall County where elk are typically spotted.

Meyer told Outdoor News that he "never expected to see an elk on his property, and he’ll keep the photos because he’s confident he’ll never see one on his land again."

The nearest herd of known elk is the Grygla herd in Marshall County. According to Explore Minnesota:

Today, Kittson and Marshall counties in northwest Minnesota are home to three herds of elk. The largest group, the Caribou-Vita herd, includes more than 150 animals that migrate between Kittson County in Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada. The Kittson-Central herd, located near Lancaster in Kittson County, includes about 60 elk. There are about 17 elk in Marshall County’s Grygla herd.

Explore Minnesota went on to state that elk "once were found throughout the majority of Minnesota through about 1900" when they were hunted to near extinction.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a reporting tool if you see an elk outside of its normal 'zone', you can find that tool here.