Well its that time of year....
Here is an article from the Walla Walla Bulletin...
My Blue Mtn A tag???
Deerslayer: Virus more vicious this year than in past
Deer have been dying in large numbers from a viral illness that hits each year.
Updated: Friday, September 12, 2008 2:34 PM PDT
By DON DAVIS of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WALLA WALLA -- Reports of deer dying in large numbers, in the Snake River drainage, as a result of bluetongue, have proven to be accurate.
One report said a bow hunter counted 10 dead deer in one field. Another reported four dead animals in one area.
Mike Johnson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer, said such numbers may be accurate.
"This occurs every year, but it hasn't been this bad in seven or eight years," he said.
Technically, he said, epizootic hemorrhagic disease kills the animals.
It's caused by gnat bites and causes fever and internal bleeding in the deer, Johnson said, and that causes the animals to seek water, and many of them die near water sources.
Johnson has received reports of dead deer from areas around the mouth of the Walla Walla River all the along the Snake River to Clarkston.
In addition, a note from Madonna Luers, WDFW Eastern Regional Office Public Information Officer, said "... a couple weeks ago our southeast district wildlife biologists Paul Wik and Pat Fowler received reports of about 30 whitetails succumbing to EHD, mostly in Walla Walla County including some near Burbank and McNary, but also in Columbia County, west of Dayton and north of Highway 12. Paul said they haven't received any more reports recently, but that doesn't mean the 'outbreak' is over."
Incidents of dead dear have been reported along such streams at the Walla Walla, Snake, Touchet and Tucannon rivers, as well as Coppei Creek, Johnson said.
When the deer population increases, the number of deaths from the disease may also increase, Johnson added.
"It happens every year, but this is a bad year," Johnson said. "There's not really anything we can do about it. We just have to ride it out.
"When we get the first good freeze, it's over," he said.
about bluetongue
Bluetongue, aka Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, is common to white-tailed deer, but rarely affects other species. It occurs in the driest part of the year when conditions are just right for biting gnats, the carriers of the disease.
The disease is not contagious from one animal to another, and it is not transferable to humans. It comes from a virus carried by biting gnats that live in or near water and wet, muddy areas. It is transmitted to deer that congregate at such watering holes during warm, dry weather.
The spread of the disease is usually cut short with colder, wetter weather that spreads deer out and away from gnat-infested areas, or the first hard frost, which will kill the disease-carrying gnats. Since the incubation period for the disease is five to 10 days, afflicted deer may be observed up to a couple of weeks after frost.
Deer in the early stages of EHD may appear lethargic, disoriented, lame, or unresponsive to humans. As the disease progresses the deer may have bloody discharge from the nose, lesions or sores on the mouth, and swollen, blue tongues. They become emaciated because they stop eating. Sometimes they even stop drinking, although many die close to or in water.
Other wildlife, like mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep could be exposed to the disease but are usually not stricken like white-tailed deer. No evidence of an outbreak in these species has been found at this time nor in past outbreaks in recent years.
Domestic livestock could also be exposed, although cattle and sheep are usually only carriers, not victims, of the bluetongue virus, which is very similar to EHD.
Since most deer hunting seasons usually doesn't open until well after the first killing frost, deer hunters usually don't see live, infected animals. However, WDFW recommends hunters avoid shooting and consuming deer that show any EHD symptoms, even though the disease cannot be transmitted to humans.
EHD typically strikes in late summer and early fall during an unusually warm, dry year when wildlife concentrates at whatever water is available.
-- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
