Bluetongue (EHD) is killing deer in Kansas:
So far this year, KDWPT has received reports of dead or sick deer from at least 24 counties in northcentral and eastern Kansas. These counties include Jewell, Cloud, Cherokee, Shawnee, Clay, Washington, Wilson, Doniphan, Jackson, Miami, Franklin, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Douglas, Osage, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie, Lyon, Riley, Anderson, Bourbon, Dickinson, and Marion. Most of these reports have involved a single sick or dead deer, with occasional reports of multiple mortalities.Source: Infozine
In Oklahoma, the cause has not been nailed down. But the leading contender is EHD.
Water samples from the Verdigris River tested negative for toxic blue-green algae, but the tests still don’t tell biologists what happened to the eight deer found dead in the river north of the Will Rogers Turnpike bridge this week. State biologist Craig Endicott, northeast regional supervisor with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said samples collected by his department and by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday showed no toxic levels in test completed this week. Cause of the deaths still is unknown. Two suspected causes are blue-green algae poisoning or a common viral disease, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, known as bluetongue or EHD.Source: TulsaWorld
And in Indiana:
Indiana wildlife biologists are investigating reports of sick deer to determine if they have an often fatal illness that's believed to be worse during drought years. The Department of Natural Resources says epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, is a viral disease transmitted by insects that typically occurs during late summer and early fall. Deer with EHD may appear depressed or feverish and seek comfort in or around water. Other signs can include blue-tinted tongue or eyes, tongue ulcers, sloughed hooves and an eroded dental pad. The DNR says the most intense outbreaks appear to be in Morgan and Putnam counties but suspected infections have been reported in nine other counties. Test results from a sample taken from one deer are expected back within two weeks.Source: WISH TV
Iowa:
Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials are warning of a threat to the state’s deer population from insects that have thrived in the dry conditions. State officials are sorting through reports of more than 40 dead deer likely killed by epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD.Source: Des Moines Rgister
Arkansas:
Three deer, all females that apparently had weaned fawns recently, were found dead this week in Marion County.Source: Baxter Bulletin
Lastly, there was this...oh, wait. That was Randy Travis.
Country singer Randy Travis was lying naked in the middle of the road with no car in sight when another driver spotted him and called 911, according to a recording released Thursday. "I just found a guy laying in the road," the caller said in a recording released by the Grayson County Sheriff's Office. He added later, "I want to say he had no shirt on, but I don't know." The 911 caller did not identify Travis by name and said he at first thought the body belonged to a deer.Source: KOAA
