Un-deer the Weather

Snapshot Wisconsin cameras capture tons of deer throughout the year. In fact, deer account for nearly two-thirds of the wildlife captured on Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras. Since there are so many photos of deer taken, we see some deer that look like they might be hurt or have a disease. Here are a few examples of deer who are looking a little under the weather and what might be ailing them:

Swollen chest

Nancy (or known by her Zooniverse handle @NBus) is a wildlife health expert here at the Wisconsin DNR who let us know that a swollen chest like this is not unusual in deer. Nancy shared the following response to this image, “It is likely either an abscess (pus-filled) from a penetrating wound that carried bacteria under the skin or a seroma (serum-filled; serum is the non-cellular portion of the blood, not the red and white cells) from a blunt trauma to the chest. The chest is a common part of the body for deer to injure as they run and impact something. And gravity then allows the accumulated pus or serum to gather in a bulge on the lower chest. In either case, the body will likely be able to resolve it and the deer will be fine.”

Warts

Another example that shows up semi-frequently is warts. Like many mammals, deer are susceptible to warts caused by a virus. These growths, called cutaneous fibromas, are caused by the papilloma virus. Usually the deer’s immune system can keep the warts in check or get rid of them. Sometimes if the warts appear in areas that obstruct the deer’s ability to eat, they could become a larger issue (source).

Thin and scraggly

Finally, we will touch on thin or scraggly looking deer. Especially in the spring, deer can start looking very skinny and ragged. This one above is shedding its winter coat and is probably a little thin since this was taken in the middle of May in Wisconsin, when food can be hard to come by. However, this is not outside the norm for deer this time of the year. We are often used to thinking of an image of plump deer, but in reality, the appearance can vary greatly based on time of year and food availability. 

If you want to see more examples of common deer health issues please visit our previous deer health blog titled, “Is this deer sick?” from February 2018. Learn more about Wisconsin health by visiting this DNR link.