Currently in Wisconsin, 43 counties are affected by a detrimental disease called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is causing hunting rates to plummet. “I’ve been hunting since I was 12 and I didn’t even go out this year,” says Marlyn Redel, 74. “Nobody knows how widespread this is. And my wife told me,’You're not bringing it into the house.’”
As far as scientists are concerned however, this life threatening disease is not harmful to humans, but rather to most mammals found in the deer family.
The Odocoileus Virginianus or most commonly referred to as the White-Tailed Deer is the subspecies bringing up the most concern to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and those in other states of the midwest. The White-Tailed Deer has a unique coat that has an adaptation of a remarkable sort. Their coats can camouflage depending on the tree colors and the season. For most of the year, White-Tailed Deer live in solitude, occasionally you will see them in small groups or herds. The lifespan of the White-Tailed Deer is at maximum, 20 years but very few make it past 10 years. Females or Does are usually pregnant for 7 months and stay with one mate for a lifetime. White-Tailed Deer are herbivores and will eat bark and twigs in the winter. But, this disease is taking out a fraction the population.…show more content… In the Brain the Prions, a protein causing CWD, attack the Netrons causing degeneration, grinding of the teeth, drooping head, decreased muscle strength, and uncontrolled weight loss. The Prions then spread and are accumulated in the Eyes as well as the Spleen. In the Spinal Cord, the prions are accumulated causing weakness lowering the ability to stand, abnormal behavior, and less coordination. Once spread to the Lymph Nodes, the Prions are accumulated causing erosion of the host’s immune system disabling the host to continue fighting the disease killing the
