TEXAS NEWS: Deer Dieoff, Hemorragic Disease Suspected

West of Eden, deer are dying. And state wildlife specialists are scrambling to figure out why.

West Texas landowners, in a rough triangle around San Angelo encompassed by the towns of Eden to the east, Ozona to the south and Sterling City to the northwest, have reported an unusual number of dead deer, said Don Davis, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station veterinary pathobiologist.

"While some level of deer mortality is not newsworthy, it looks like we have a hot spot developing for epizootic hemorrhagic disease," said Texas Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist Dale Rollins.

The flyborne disease is similar to an ailment called bluetongue that affects sheep and cattle, but Rollins said it's most common in white-tailed deer.