Elk sighted in Iowa City has lingered for a year

An elk that has been glimpsed numerous times in Iowa City in recent days might have been roaming the area since late last summer, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Police officers on patrol have spotted the creature repeatedly within city limits, and the dash camera of a Johnson County deputy sheriff recorded it running on Shannon Drive near West High School in the early morning hours of Monday.

The sheriff's office posted the video on its Facebook page Thursday and warned people to avoid it and not to kill it, which might incur a $1,000 fine.

"I hope it does not get hit by a car," Sheriff Brad Kunkel said.

Young male elk like the one in Iowa City can weigh hundreds of pounds. Adults weigh as much as 800. That's about three times heavier than the largest whitetail deer.

The animals were native to Iowa before it was settled. They are most frequently seen in western and central Iowa in the fall during breeding season, when young bucks wander into the state from wild herds in Nebraska and South Dakota.

It's unclear whether the Iowa City elk is one of those deer or an escapee from a captive herd. There are several hunting preserves in Iowa that have elk.

"We can't confirm that it's from a farm," said Dave Kutz, a natural resources technician for the DNR. "It's a wild animal, and we'll let it do its thing."

Last December, a Winterset man posted on social media about seeing an elk in Madison County. In early 2023, the DNR reported in a news release that reports of elk had increased, and it was collecting scat and muscle tissue for DNA analysis to learn more about where the animals — mostly seen in western and central parts of the state — were coming from.

Kutz said the Iowa City elk has been seen near Cedar Rapids and Oxford and as far south as Riverside. Kutz said he saw it at the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

Wild elk cannot be legally hunted in Iowa, but the animals can be killed if they threaten people or property.

"Large animals like that, we always want people to be aware of them," said Brad Freidhof, conservation program manager for Johnson County. "Hopefully this is an isolated animal and it can get out into the countryside. ... It's those interactions with people and vehicles where the real concerns are."

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