The Missoulin – by Rob ChaneyWildlife officials are trying to find out why more than 100 whitetail deer have died along the Clark Fork River west of Missoula.
“The deer may show no outward symptoms of disease,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Vickie Edwards. “People are seeing healthy looking deer fall over dead.”
Fishing guides and landowners along the Clark Fork and fields near and downstream of Harpers Bridge started reporting the dead deer on Sunday. Dead deer have also been found in the Mill Creek area northeast of Frenchtown.
By Tuesday, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel had confirmed 103 dead deer, with more appearing sick or dying. Biologists have collected lung, spleen and blood samples from affected deer to research the cause.
One possible cause is epizootic hemorrhagic disease, which has hammered deer populations in several eastern Montana regions. Biting midges or gnats transmit the disease, usually in late summer or early fall. The bugs typically die off soon after the first hard frost.
“Hemorrhagic disease viruses are not contagious from one animal to another and are not transmissible to humans,” said Jennifer Ramsey, FWP wildlife veterinarian in Bozeman. “Transmission is only known to occur through the bite of the gnat.”
The disease poses no threat to humans. Anyone who sees dead or sick deer in the Missoula area is asked to call FWP at 542-5515 with observations and locations.
Back in the early 1970’s, deer in the Central USA were hit with some kind of blood disease that wiped out thousands.
But that was then. Are the dead Montana deer close to any CW/BW testing facilities?
Radiation sickness? Christ, Fukashima has had to had some effect you would think.
I agree Mark. I think you’re on to something right there. We all know Fukushima is out of control. We’ll see more of this not only in animal species but the human population as well as time goes on.
. . .
I wouldn’t think that radiation would kill them all around the same time. It would be spread out as they each became sick in their own time frame. I am still thinking bio-weapon
My Fellow Americans:
GOVERNMENT EXPLANATION:
Naw,… Naw, naw,…….
Perfectly healthy deer ALWAYS just drop dead,.. didn’t you know that??
Its called: “The no-reason-for-sudden-death-syndrome,…errr,.. or something like that,… yeah,… thats it,.. yeah…”
Just like perfectly healthy buildings, with no damage suddenly collapse, neatly, symetrically, into its own footprint,… at freefall speed!! (Like Bldg 7 on 9/11)
Its called: “The no-reason-for-sudden-building-collapse-syndrome,….errrr,.. or ,.. something like that….. yeah,.. thats it,.. yeah…”
SADISTIC COP ON THE STREET: Nothing to see here people,.. move along,… move along,.. NOW!! GOD DAMN IT!,.. AND DON’T ASK QUESTIONS!
JD – Houston,.. our country has a problem….
Well, if you think about it… The less deer there are in the hills, the less food there is for all of the people who will head for the hills when the SHTF. Do you think this is by accident? I think not! It is happening in New Mexico, also.
A test? If the gov can control the food supply, even the hunted supply they have the upper hand so they might think. I can see a few deer dying from this but this sounds like there is more to it than what is being reported.
Yeah, a 100 gnats killed 100 deer all at once at the same time. Whaaaaaat, are you serious!!!! I think not! It is a test like you are saying, Redhorse. They are trying out their bio-weapons in different areas to test the kill ratio and to perfect their systems, so when the time comes they can have a greater effect at controlling the wild food supply of the resistance..
We have had problems with Cronic Wasting Desease killing the deer here in Wi. for the last 10 years maybe. The deer look like there is something wrong witht them though when they have that CWD.
Chronic Wasting Disease = Bio-weapon
They had a major wildlands fire there recently & who knows what they used as fire retardant. Recent rain storms have caused a increase of water run-off. I look at man made before I start looking at disease in cases of sudden die-off. Only radiation effects we’ve seen is an increase of still births in small animals & weird tumor growths on our cats’ faces (which had to be euthanized). Radiation is there, (low range beta/gamma), but I don’t have the resources to determine what elements.
fracking ?
Bluetongue has recently all but wiped out the deer population on the Missouri in eastern Montana. Diseases are common in wildlife and can devastate populations in a short amount of time. FWP is spending all their money on buying land and conservation easements, studying wolves, introducing free roaming bison, poisoning fish, and more so why would you think they have any idea what is happening to the deer. Maybe we could transplant some deer from Helena, they seem healthy.
The deer in the pic appears to be lying in water. Maybe there is
something in the water. Water is almost always the dumping ground.
These gov scientists – you can’t believe a word. Remember BP.