On the internet, people are posting photographs of deer with dark, warty “flesh bubbles” all over them. You probably expected you’d hear something about Colorado’s “zombie squirrels” and “Frankenstein rabbits.”
People in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have seen the strange animals, and photographs of them have spread swiftly on social media.
Someone on Reddit posted a picture of a deer in their yard and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with her or how we can help.” Wound from a gunshot? A bump? Fireworks? What kind of disease is caused by prions? I don’t know what to do. Someone other shared a picture of a deer with tumors on its forehead and chest and inquired, “What’s wrong with this deer?”
There is an answer, it turns out.
And even though it could be scary, it’s not the end of the world.
What’s going on, really?
Animal experts believe that this is termed “deer fibroma” and it is caused by a type of HPV that only affects deer. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says, “these look like hard, warty growths stuck to the skin of a deer.” They vary in all forms and sizes, but most are only a few centimeters across. They normally have no fur, are black, and seem broken or lumpy.
Deer may have a number of huge fibromas, but most of the time they just get a few small ones. Is there any positive news? People and animals that aren’t deer can’t get deer fibroma.
How do deer pass it on?
Dr. Kristin Mansfield, a wildlife vet in Washington state, told FOX13 that deer can spread the disease to each other when they are close to each other:
Dr. Manfield explained, “They come from direct contact, just like warts on people.”
“Maybe they rub against the same post or meet up where people are feeding them, which brings them closer together.”
Like warts on people, these growths could make the deer itch a little, but that’s all they do. Hunters are anxious about the animal’s health, but the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife maintains the meat is still safe to eat.
Dr. Mansfield said, “They can only be on the skin, and you can just cut them off.”
The growths themselves don’t damage people, but deer do carry ticks that can spread diseases like Lyme disease in areas where deer are common.
The good news is that a deer usually fights the virus on its own, and the warts go away on their own.
Is there a way to treat it?
There is no way to cure fibroma in wild deer that works.
Experts say that sick deer should not be bothered. If they are kept in captivity, the lumps can sometimes be surgically removed. Euthanasia is only an option in very rare cases where a deer can’t feed, move, or see because of growth.
Why do we have so many “mutant animals” now?
Experts say that climate change might have something to do with it. Warmer weather is good for mosquitoes and ticks, which spread diseases and illnesses.
“The Daily Mail” spoke with Dr. Omer Awan from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He said, “These changes in temperature are making diseases that were never common in some places become common.” Lyme disease, for example, is starting to show up in regions where it never did before, like southern Canada and northern states on the East Coast, like Maine.
Awan remarked, “People are talking about it more and posting about it more on social media.” “That’s why people have been talking about this so much more.”
Experts say that “mutant deer” with bubble growths on them may look menacing, but they are not dangerous to people.
A lot of people are still wondering if this is just the beginning of something greater because animals in the U.S. are getting sick and looking odd due of diseases.
