| November 10, 2007 19:25 - Deer Disease
Did you know that there is currently a disease that is killing approximately 3 million deer a year, which is 20% of the deer population. Deer are not going extinct, or anything like that, but it is good to be aware of what is going on with them.
The disease is epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). It is related to Ebola virus and kills deer the same way it kills humans, but human can not catch this disease. Deer are also dying from Blue Tongue Disease (BT) which has the same symptoms. The diseases are carried by the gnats that feed on the belly of a deer. About 10-14 days after being bitten by an infected gnat, the deer has a high fever and it dies a very unpleasant death with its digestive system and intestines rotting away.
Many of these sick/dead deer are found near water where they went to try to cool off.
This is very sad for these great animals. As much as we want to keep them out of our gardens and stop them from jumping in front of cars, this disease isn't anything I would wish on them. Even though you cannot contract this disease, if you come in contact with a deer through an accident or hunting, remember that it is estimated that 20% of deer have this disease, so be careful around them.
Fawn
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