Dead deer,,DNR calls it a perfect storm.

Slo-Ride · Sep 18, 2012

This maybe the year to let the Does go. Wondering how big of effect this will have on the herd statewide.

Deer Carcasses Piling Up
According to experts from the the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a viral disease know as the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) has attacked at least 3000 deer across 22 counties in Michigan. It's spread by a kind of small fly that's been unusually prevalent this year because of the drought and warm weather.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

It will affect the herd for a while. It may bring the herd more into line with what some believe the carrying capability of the habitat can handle. It will be interesting to see how the DNR reacts next year. Too bad politics and politicians are so involved. This needs to be handled solely by the biologists.

Slo-Ride · Sep 18, 2012

Searching around looking for the hardest hit areas,,I see that they are starting to think Wi is being hit also..I found nothing confirming it yet, just 1 article saying it maybe happening there also.

So far it looks like Ionia is hardest hit in Mich.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

PA has confirmed some cases as well. This happens every 50 years or so. About the same as these drought events.

Falligator · Sep 18, 2012

Oh dear! Better call a Bambulance! Lmao

Turtle · Sep 18, 2012

It happens every year. It's worse with drought, but it's a common thing. 3000 sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's not much when you compare it to the healthy population of one million deer in Michigan. The midges (the flies, what I've heard them called as "no see-ums") will die off with the first frost and the herds will recover, just like they do every year. Local herds can be quickly thinned by the virus, though.

There are reports of such acute Epizootic Hemorrhagic outbreaks in PA, WV, NJ, NY and KY, as well as MI. Although, most of them in Kentucky are in eastern KY. In Western Kentucky, as far back as 1983 it was shown that the white-tailed and fallow deer in the Land Between the Lakes have an unusually high percentage of the population who have developed the antibodies to Epizootic Hemorrhagic disease. The LBL fallow herd, in particular, which is the oldest and largest established fallow herd in North America, has nearly a 100% population with the antibodies, which partially accounts for their abundance (and there's a lot of them, lemme tell ya).

Hunters in severely affected areas will probably want to take less does, so that more are available to quickly rebuild the population, but it'll increase back to normal within 3 or 4 years, even during the most severe outbreaks of the disease.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

It is a common problem, not every year in Michigan, but not out of the question. It gets far worse in drought years as stated. My friend, a wildlife biologist with the DNR, believes that the number of dead deer is much higher than 3000. He bases his thoughts on numbers of dead deer found, where they were found, population density and weather. Based on past years he thinks the number is low.

For Slo-ride, same guy I introduced you to at the show.

Turtle · Sep 18, 2012

The numbers probably are low. They real numbers tend to be about twice what gets counted, for obvious reasons. That's usually the case down south, where the disease is more common (bit death is more rare because more of them have the antibodies). Michigan probably sees a few dozens or a few hundred in normal years, so the 3000 number is probably freaking a lot of people out. The upside is that it's estimated that 10 times the number who die get the disease and don't die, and thus develop antibodies against it.

It can be bad locally, though, especially in areas where it's more rare. If you remember in 2007, the Milk River area of Montana lost 80% of its white-tailed herd. That's not something that can easily recover. It'll take many years for the deer there to bounce back. To make matters worse, the same areas in northeast Montana and western North Dakota, it's happened again this year, thanks to an abnormally wet spring which provided more wet-pooled breeding grounds for the midges. 90% or more of white-tailed deer have been killed along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River from Malta to east of Glasgow. And of course, the disease affects to a lesser degree mule deer, pronghorn antelope, elk and bighorn sheep out there, as well. It may be 10 years before those areas of the northern plains recover.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

I will likely see a drop in numbers at my friends camp. One farmer about 1/4 away found 21, mostly does and fawns, behind his barn a couple of weeks ago. On the flip side, there were FAR too many deer in that area and the buck to doe ratio was very much out of wack. One evening hunt last season I had a herd of over 70 come by, after shooting hours of course. All does, fawns and yearlings. Over population can cause the disease to be worse as well.

Turtle · Sep 18, 2012

That's really the biggest problem with that disease (and bluetongue), that it generally kills a few more does and fawns that bucks, which is why when it's concentrated locally, especially in areas where it's not as common, it can take so long to recover.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

One thing in the favor of the area of my buddies camp is that it is at least 60% working farms. The deer are well fed and stronger than deer that have lessor food sources. This year is bad, the crops were bad, but the last several have been good. The herd came into this healthy. More may live through this would have had they been weak.

Turtle · Sep 18, 2012

Well that's good. Any herd that's not strong to begin with is gonna get hit harder. Unfortunately, there's no vaccine for this yet.

layoutshooter · Sep 18, 2012

Vaccines are shaky with deer. Too difficult to administer. Nature will take care of it's own. This will kill off the weaker animals. It will build up anti-bodies, and then the disease will fade into the background for a long time till the 'perfect storm' happens again.

OntarioVanMan · Sep 20, 2012

Add..SD and MO to the list....

Deer Disease Limits Licenses in South Dakota - weather.com

For a small budget state, the loss of this income stream will have to made up, somewhere...

The department says outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease tend to increase during droughts, when deer and flies both congregate near the diminished number of watering spots.

Moot · Sep 20, 2012

Slo-Ride said:
...been unusually prevalent this year because of the drought and warm weather.

That line applies to the deer population as well as the fly population. I don't recall a year where I have seen so many deer along the highways in the Midwest, both roadkill and alive. I've got to believe that the mild winter is responsible for an increase in the deer population. The drought may be drawing more deer to roadside ditches for water, but I have noticed the increase in deer before it got too dry. Let nature take its course. I'd rather see a thinning of the heard by disease than cars and trucks.