Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Concern grows over deer die-off
By Dennis Pelham
Daily Telegram
Posted Feb 05, 2012 @ 04:23 PM
CAMBRIDGE TWP., Mich. ? A die-off of deer last summer in an area north of Onsted may be larger than was first assumed. If it is repeated this summer, Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials say they want to hear about it sooner.
The suspected cause is a virus carried by a biting fly, or midge, that is common in southern states. DNR officials say it is becoming more widespread in northern states and bringing with it localized outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease.
EHD kills deer within one to three days after symptoms appear and can drastically reduce deer herds in local areas, according to the DNR.
Jerry Ruttkofsky, the owner of Jerry?s Taxidermy on M-50 north of Onsted, said he is a witness to what the disease can do.
?I?d say it wiped out 90 percent of the deer we have here,? Ruttkofsky said.
...
?Most all of the fawns survived,? he said. Even with the surviving fawns, Ruttkofsky said he fears it may take five years for the local herd to recover. Another die-off would be devastating, he said.
?They say it usually doesn?t hit two years in a row. You don?t know,? he said. ?We?ve never seen it here before.?
Full text:
http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x1393364295/Concern-grows-over-deer-die-off
By Dennis Pelham
Daily Telegram
Posted Feb 05, 2012 @ 04:23 PM
CAMBRIDGE TWP., Mich. ? A die-off of deer last summer in an area north of Onsted may be larger than was first assumed. If it is repeated this summer, Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials say they want to hear about it sooner.
The suspected cause is a virus carried by a biting fly, or midge, that is common in southern states. DNR officials say it is becoming more widespread in northern states and bringing with it localized outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease.
EHD kills deer within one to three days after symptoms appear and can drastically reduce deer herds in local areas, according to the DNR.
Jerry Ruttkofsky, the owner of Jerry?s Taxidermy on M-50 north of Onsted, said he is a witness to what the disease can do.
?I?d say it wiped out 90 percent of the deer we have here,? Ruttkofsky said.
...
?Most all of the fawns survived,? he said. Even with the surviving fawns, Ruttkofsky said he fears it may take five years for the local herd to recover. Another die-off would be devastating, he said.
?They say it usually doesn?t hit two years in a row. You don?t know,? he said. ?We?ve never seen it here before.?
Full text:
http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x1393364295/Concern-grows-over-deer-die-off