LAGRANGE, Ind. (AP) – Large numbers of dead deer are being found in parts of Indiana after an outbreak of an insect-spread disease made worse by this summer’s drought.
State wildlife officials have been getting reports of dead deer every day recently. Tiffany Dunkel of Pigeon River Wildlife Area tells The News Sun that one person found 30 dead deer near a pond on his northeastern Indiana property.
Wildlife experts blame the deaths on Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD. The viral disease is spread by biting gnats that breed well in exposed mud flats and leads to internal bleeding.
Department of Natural Resources biologist Dean Zimmerman tells WLFI-TV that widespread deer deaths could lead to restrictions on hunting in future years.