Category Archives: West Virginia

Disease May Be Behind Low Virginia Hunt Numbers

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Virginia is reporting a 10 percent to 15 percent decrease in harvests statewide this year, reports the Tidewater News. In addition to warmer weather and full moons, the article quotes a district wildlife biologist as saying that disease may have also played a role. About three percent of the deer in the Tidewater, Va. have been afflicted with disease, the article quotes the biologist as saying.
However, the biologist says the disease is bluetongue. That’s common in cattle, but fairly rare in cervids such as deer, notes a ProMed commentator. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) displays similar symptoms and is common in deer. A laboratory test can tell the two viruses apart, the comment says.

Urban Bear Studies

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Let’s make it a two-fer on black bears.

This spring, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources began a two-year study of urban bears in three cities. The West Virginia Gazette-Mail has the details. The West Virginia effort began last year and is part of a region-wide effort. Urban bears are also being studied in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

More details about the Pennsylvania study are available here:
ABC27
Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader
Some results of last year’s study in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (second half of article)
The Game Commission brochure about the study (downloads a 2-page PDF).
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I couldn’t find anything specifically about the New Jersey portion of this study. As previously reported here, New York State will be doing work on black bears in developing areas.

There have been many urban/nuisance black bear stories in the news this week. Mostly, it’s been “black bear spotted…” on golf course, in neighborhood, etc. This attack in New Hampshire was the most serious. (From the North Andover Eagle-Tribune). Read the NH Fish and Game press release.

CWD in Maryland

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Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been reported in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported last week that a white-tailed deer killed by a hunter last November in Green Ridge State Forest has tested positive for CWD. (Google Maps reveals that this state forest is in the Maryland panhandle, that little strip of Maryland between West Virginia and Pennsylvania.)

The Maryland DNR press release includes a link to the state’s 10-page long CWD response plan. (Actually, it’s two clicks away.)

The Baltimore Sun covered the story. Since the news broke, it also reported stories that the state’s deer harvest dropped below 100,000 for the first time in three years. And that a privately-funded research project is exploring the surgical sterilization of suburban deer.

Lack of photo: Sorry, but there are only so many pictures of CWD-stricken deer I can post in a week. This is Maryland’s state flag.