There's a lonely moose looking for a mate in central Wisconsin, heading east

Male moose seeks female. Likes long walks, alone time. Vegetarian.

Residents near the municipalities of Lublin, Stanley and Owen in the last three days have reported sightings of the large ungulate — hoofed mammal — and the state Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that the moose is passing through the region, heading east.

Wildlife biologists said the most likely reason for the bull to be in the area is he is searching for a mate. 

"Once in a while it happens," said Kay Brockman-Mederas, DNR wildlife biologist for Shawano County, where a moose was spotted in 2016. "Sometimes young bulls get driven out of their area by more dominant males and go looking for new territory to find a mate.”

"We get a few moose sporadically from Minnesota or (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula),” said Jed Hopp, Clark County wildlife biologist. "A handful of moose are seen in the northern part of the state."

Sightings as far south as central Wisconsin, though, "are few and far between," Brockman-Mederas said.

This is the time of year when moose travel, looking for mates. In 2016, a video on Facebook showed a moose in downtown Tomahawk during the Fall Ride motorcycle rally.  

And there have been other moose sightings in recent years in north central Wisconsin. In 2016, there were two sightings in Lincoln County (Merrill, Tomahawk) and two in Taylor County (Rib Lake, near Greenwood). There also were two sightings in Taylor County and one in Shawano County in 2015. In total there were 32 moose sightings in seven counties in 2016 and 24 in 10 counties in 2015, according to the DNR's website. 

Moose were native to Wisconsin, but it's quite rare to see them today in the central portion of the state. They are in Canada, Minnesota and the U.P. in Michigan commonly.

Why are moose so rare in Wisconsin?

"Moose can get brainworm from whitetail deer,” Brockman-Maderas said. "Whitetail are much more prevalant in Wisconsin than they used to be. That brainworm parasite really reduces moose in Wisconsin. It doesn't effect whitetail but it's pretty damaging to moose."

Brockman-Maderas said moose can travel a long way in a single day. Moose typically head back north if they can't find a mate in a few days. 

Both Hopp and Brockman-Maderas encourage those who spot this moose or another to go to the DNR website and fill out a large-mammal report so scientists can record the sighting and track the animal.