GREAT OUTDOORS: Drought leads to deer dying from disease

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife is monitoring the reappearance of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), presently sickening and killing large numbers of white-tailed deer across Ohio.Residents of Ohio's southeastern counties with high deer densities are finding dozens of dead deer and are urging the DOW to "do something about it." Many other counties throughout the state are getting reports of a few to many dozens.Last year in northwest Ohio, there were hundreds found in the Maumee River corridor in Paulding and Defiance counties, two of 32 counties affected statewide in 2024.The recipe for EHD starts with low rainfall levels that allow creeks, ponds, wetlands and other water bodies to dry up and leave wider margins of mud around them.Mudflats are the preferred breeding habitat for biting midges, also called no-see-ums or gnats, which carry the disease after biting an infected deer, then spread it by biting an uninfected one.Symptoms of EHD in deer begin about a week after being bitten by an infected midge with fever, swelling of the neck, tongue, head and eyelids ensuing. The swollen tongue prevents normal drinking, and while suffering from high fever and dehydration, dead deer are very often found near water sources.Once clinical signs appear, death is usually swift, within 36 hours. Deer that survive a mild case of EHD may gain immunity, so southern herds with a longer history of exposure to the disease fare better than northern populations.The numbers of reported sick and dead deer statewide from the seasonal disease are already well over 8,000 this summer, with no end in sight until the first hard frost kills the midges spreading it.The DOW had a meeting Wednesday night in Athens with the Ohio Wildlife Council to brief them on the outbreak, specifically in southeast Ohio, answer questions from the council and hear from the public.A take-home message to landowners, local and non-resident hunters, sportsman's groups and other concerned citizens is that even though many deer, including trophy bucks that hunters have been watching, are dying, others will avoid or survive the disease. Wild deer populations rebound quickly and have the potential to reach an exponential population growth rate after more does become mature and bear fawns. Plus, deer immigrating from adjacent areas colonize high-quality habitat.In often-cited experiments in the George Reserve, a high fence area in Michigan, two bucks and four does that were introduced there increased its population to 222 in just seven years. When the experiment was repeated, the herd grew from 10 to 212 in six years.A hard frost will kill off these southern midge species. Meanwhile, if rain refills watering sources, midge breeding sites could become fewer. But with much of the state in a drought, it is less likely.Before then, reports of EHD-stricken deer are likely to increase statewide.At the Ohio Wildlife Council meeting, to counter unprecedented levels of known EHD cases as of mid-week in Washington (1,801), Athens (1,598) and Meigs (1,254) counties, Ohio's deer biologists proposed that the council approve a measured response at their next meeting on October 22.It includes a seasonal bag limit reduction from three to two deer in those counties beginning December 1 for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.Public comments about the proposal can be left at wildohio.gov until October 16.