Saturday, August 24, 2019

Oh, Deer!


"At least 40 deer have been reported dead, primarily in the Little Pine and Big Pine Communities, according to Justin McVey of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

"Test results . . . pointed to epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) as the likely cause.

"'It's a very common disease in the Southeast that usually shows up every five years or so,' McVey said. 'It's a natural cycle and will probably die off with first frost.'"

(The full article is HERE)

We are located right between Big and Little Pine which may make us the epicenter of this plague. John and Justin have hauled off three dead deer from our property -- that's three that they've seen. And there was an obviously sick one spotted. Who knows what's up in the woods? The vultures do.

The disease is spread by no-see-ums and can affect cattle. We've had two cows apparently with the disease. John gave them antibiotics and they seem to have recovered.

Much as I've complained about the deer and what they've done to my garden, I hate seeing this happen. But thinning the herd is a natural response to overpopulation. Perhaps there will be enough natural browse for the survivors that they won't have to forage in our yard. 

And speaking of thinning the herd--why is there so little mention of the fact that most of humanity's current problems are caused by overpopulation?


3 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I was just thinking that about population earlier this morning.

Barbara Rogers said...

Oh how sad, that there are sick deer dying all around us...and that the cattle can also catch this disease. Yes, overpopulation will bring many more problems as we move into the 2020's.

NCmountainwoman said...

What a shame. We do all sorts of things to deter the deer from eating our plants, but we would never wish this upon them. I don't think we have the disease here. At least, not yet.