Hls

Santiam338 · 03-09-2007, 06:35 PM

While shed hunting today I saw several deer with HLS...I haven't been seeing any,then all of a sudden its everywhere...I only managed pics of 2..

I hate that stuff

Rank Amateur · 03-09-2007, 06:59 PM

Great pictures, would you agree top one is adult (maybe yearling) and bottom is fawn from last year. Great picture to help people tell the difference, look at the nose length. The fawn is probably toast if this wet weather keeps up. How high are you there?

Santiam338 · 03-09-2007, 07:21 PM

I saw 10 deer and half of them had HLS..Really sucks....We are in the low foothills...Probaly under 1000 feet...

Rank Amateur · 03-09-2007, 07:27 PM

Let me know if you see anything higher than 1,000. If you don't mind, just how high were these, our bio feels that 600 feet is pretty much the line, but I disagree. I have seen the beds of hair at around 1,200 maybe more. So were the adults affected or was it mainly the yearlings and fawns?

Santiam338 · 03-09-2007, 07:33 PM

I saw adult does with it,like the doe in the top picture...The yearlings had it the worst though....We were above 600 feet for sure....I would say right close to 1000'...

I haven't heard about the elevation limit...I would guess that is good news though,if true...

Beeatease · 03-09-2007, 07:38 PM

Well if Matt Saffino is right with the "La Nina" coming in on the heels of "El Nino" this year. Spring will be very wet and not good for deer with HLS I would think.

Rank Amateur · 03-09-2007, 07:51 PM

Yes, the elevation thing has been passed around alot, it first stemmed from when they thought HLS was caused by a lung worm, remember the slug or snail was the intermediate and then the deer ate them and then developed HLS. Well OSU debunked WSU's theory and found out that the old European Louse was actually the critter causing HLS and the lung worms were just taking advantage of low immune systems. Anyways, when the thought was that it was the lung worm, this was easy to check on by looking in the feces by trained professionals for the lung worm larvae. It was noticed that deer about 1,000 feet did not have near the levels of low elevation deer of the lung worm larvae in their scat. So that is how the elevation thing got started. Myself, I think it is just a matter of being around the deer and most humans interact with deer under 1,000 feet.
There are some thoughts that livestock may have some interaction also. All I know, when HLS first really hit us, the beds of hair thing was pretty common place. It looked like the deer layed in their beds and pulled their hair out. You would find the beds of hair, but no bones, so it wasn't where they died. I had a lot of timber cutters mention it. I don't see it anymore, but I think that is tied to the quite drastic reduction in deer numbers. It's all about probability and perspective.

Vernonia is at 640 feet elevation and HLS is prevalent in the deer around town. I remember spotlighting with the district bio a ways out of town and probably a couple of hundred feet higher and seeing the drowned rat phase of HLS. He should remember that.

nehalemguy · 03-10-2007, 06:11 PM

Why has HLS not affected elk? I know that lice are very host specific(i.e. human lice can only live on humans.) Are deer and elk that far separated on the family tree that the lice cannot jump species? If so how did they jump to our deer in the first place? I think that the EE Wilson study showed that mule deer could support the lice. Forgive my ignorance on this matter. I have only followed it casually.

E

johndeeregreen · 03-10-2007, 07:20 PM

Saw a fawn from last year with it yesterday @ 1300'

Rank Amateur · 03-10-2007, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johndeeregreen

Saw a fawn from last year with it yesterday @ 1300'

Thanks for the report, keep them coming.

Nehalemguy, I think you nailed it, they must be host specific. I know I asked the question of the bio's if the elk did have the lice, but I don't remember the answer or if I got one. They still do not know the exact mechanism of why deer have such a problem with the lice. I know one theory included the reaction to lice feces.

Rank Amateur · 03-14-2007, 10:07 AM

I had a herd of four deer come through the place this morning. Two Does and two fawns (almost yearlings). One pair had HLS, fairly bad. The good fawn is a little buck, I could see the knots with the bino's. The last photo show's the bad Doe, bad fawn and then the little buck fawn, notice the difference in coat coloring.