A local Blacktail

[BrushChimp]

Looks like the same thing that seems to be responsible for killing hundreds of deer in the past 10 years where I hunt.

[LongTatLaw]

like 50% of the deer Ive seen in the last month look like that...thought it was just losing the winter hair???

[Hunting Cowboy]

We've got the same thing going on in our neighborhood. If I can, I'll try to get some pictures of our local deer. At first glance I thought we had some piebald deer, but upon closer inspection it looks like some kind of mange.

[Curly]

You see a ton of deer like this in the Thurston County area.

I see deer like that every spring around my house.  They do seem to get over it by summer and by fall they usually look normal.

[PolarBear]

It is hair-loss syndrome.  It can cause the hair to become yellowish or even white looking.  It dosent always lead to total bald spots but extreme discoloration of the hair is definately one of the signs of hair-loss syndrome.  Every one of the 15+ yearlings around my place has it.  It is caused by parasites in the muscles and lungs thanks to some damn snail from Asia.  If they live through their fist winter with it they usually kick it by their second fall.  You probably will never see a 2 year old or older deer with it.

[billythekidrock]

It is hair-loss syndrome.  It can cause the hair to become yellowish or even white looking.  It dosent always lead to total bald spots but extreme discoloration of the hair is definately one of the signs of hair-loss syndrome.  Every one of the 15+ yearlings around my place has it.  It is caused by parasites in the muscles and lungs thanks to some damn snail from Asia.  If they live through their fist winter with it they usually kick it by their second fall.  You probably will never see a 2 year old or older deer with it.

It is my understanding that the parasites that cause them to bite down their hair is different then the HLS. Either way both can cause them to get hypothermia and die if we get alot of rain and cold weather.

[bobcat]

BTKR, from all that I've ever read about Hair Loss Syndrome, it is caused by just the parasite you are talking about.

[billythekidrock]

BTKR, from all that I've ever read about Hair Loss Syndrome, it is caused by just the parasite you are talking about.

I could be wrong..wouldn't be the first time. But I thought I read somewhere that HLS actually makes them lose the hair from the folicle.

[billythekidrock]

HLS is caused by non-native species of lice that causes the animal to lose hair from incessant licking and scratching. Infected deer eventually become thin, lethargic and have diarrhea, which can lead to death. Effects are most pronounced during the winter.

From here. http://blogs.nwifc.org/weblog/general/2008/04/disease_likely.html

I am still confused about the lice/parasite deal. If the ingest a snail with parasites (internal) could it manifest into and external louse?

[PolarBear]

Try this link.  Some good info on hls.
http://www.enviro-navair.navy.mil/currents/fall2002/HairLossSyndrome.pdf

[Jackjr]

Hair looks kind of thin to me.   

[M_ray]

I've seen a few around the Black Diamond area that looked like that. Don't know what it is but it doesn't look right to me? 

[ICEMAN]

nasty.

[bow4elk]

It's not hair loss, but it's not natural color either. This is caused by the deer chewing (scratching) at parasites. If I remember correctly the parasite is transfered to the deer by a small snail that they ingest when eating grass. You see a ton of deer like this in the Thurston County area.


Yes, you are correct - and this is called Hairloss Syndrome by the WDFW...I've been through the Briggs Hall's training to provide WDFW with counts of deer in western washington.  See this link:  http://wdfw.wa.gov/depinfo/director/nov0504rpt.htm.

some deer don't make it through winter and some remove more hair than others.  Depends on how "infested" they get.

[robodad]

Does this affect the elk population as well ??