Does this deer have Chronic Wasting Disease?
Filed under: Ask Grant, Deer Biology
Aug 30 at 10:10 PM
Hi Grant,
Hello Grant,
I was hoping to pick you brain. The two attached pictures are the same deer approximately 1 week apart. That was a very big doe. She was even healthier looking three weeks ago. She has been absolutely huge. Now she looks like she’s dying. There is another doe that looks like a walking skeleton. Neither doe has had any fawns. The big doe has not had a fawn in three years. She normally looks like a buck with out the proper equipment. Could this be chronic wasting? Also, three of our largest bucks have disappeared after weekly pictures over the last 8 weeks. I’m getting a bit concerned. Thanks for your input.
Regards,
Pete
Pete,
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) usually takes years before the deer show any signs. Most of the deer that have tested positive for CWD look normal.
The symptoms you described sound more like Hemorrhagic Disease (H.D.). H.D. is a virus that transmitted deer to deer by very small biting flies. Deer that contact the H.D. virus go from looking healthy to dead in a matter of days. H.D. has been studied for more than 50 years. There is currently no vaccine and epidemics of H.D. have occurred throughout the whitetail’s range. Deer herd’s always bounce back from H.D.
CWD is 100% fatal and a very serious threat to deer. You can learn more about CWD at http://www.CWD-info.org.
It the deer are dying from CWD – that’s a major game changer for you and all of your neighbors. I suggest you contact you local state wildlife biologist if you find any fresh deer carcasses.
Hoping for the best,
grant
