A disease that last affected large numbers of black-tailed deer 10 years ago is believed to be the cause of another outbreak.
Officials with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife believe that adenovirus has killed several black-tailed deer found dead in a few Jackson County communities. The virus occurs naturally. Officials told the Medford Mail Tribune in this story that more deer are being discovered and the last such outbreak, in 2002, saw more than 1,000 blacktails killed in late summer and autumn
“We’ve had deer die in the past 10 years that we thought were from adenovirus, but now we’re seeing a lot of dead deer,” Mark Vargas, the ODFW’s Rogue District wildlife biologist in Central Point, told the Mail Tribune.
“We know it’s here and now we know we have another outbreak,” he said.
Read the full story here in the Mail Tribune.