T-R FILE PHOTO Scout prepares to get on the water upon her November arrival at Riverside Cemetery. Serving as a new companion for fellow goose Frankie, Scout was found dead last Sunday and has been transported to the state veterinarian for a complete autopsy.

Just one month after her arrival at her new Riverside Cemetery home, Scout the goose was found dead on Sunday.

Riverside Cemetery General Manager Kelly Schott said her passing came as a surprise, because Scout was showing no symptoms of illness on Saturday.

“She was just fine,” she said.

Scout’s body was taken to the state veterinarian in Des Moines on Monday where a necropsy, or autopsy, will be performed to determine the cause of death.

“We’re going to check for avian flu and other factors such as stress, if someone fed her something . . . It will be a complete necropsy,” Schott said, adding they will post the results as soon as they are available.

Scout, who was a year and a half old Emden goose, came to Riverside in November to be a companion to Frankie, another resident goose. Frankie had been alone since October when Blossom, his female companion, was tragically struck and killed by a vehicle, and he is alone once again.

Schott said they will wait until the spring to begin another search for a companion for Frankie.

“We will start when the weather is warmer, because we do not want undue stress on a goose who might have been raised inside,” she said. “Also, we want to hold off because of the avian flu. We have a couple hundred geese here now, and we need to think about the health and safety of the flock.”

In December, there were reports of the bird flu, or H5N1, killing migrating geese in Iowa. At that time, Schott said no birds at Riverside were showing symptoms of the illness. Staff at the cemetery will continue to monitor the flock and if additional birds die, they will be removed.

There were a few times when some of the birds seemed dizzy, but Schott said they got up and left.

“We’re not worried about it at this time,” she said.

She added that since her arrival as the manager in January 2025, there were no bird deaths until around the time of Scout’s. Two geese were found frozen to the pond, and they have been removed. Schott said geese will sleep on thin ice, which is why they were frozen and neither displayed signs of illness.

“Nature is nature,” she said. “I wish it was preventative, and we can’t quarantine the birds as they are not a captive flock. This was heartbreaking. Scout was such a fun goose. We were happy to have her here and she was happy to be here, paddling away on the lake. She had gotten along fine with the other birds. Scout was home.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.