Category: Blog

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The Damaging Effect of Feeding Wildlife

By Kelsey Martin, Dr. Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Dr. Jan Novakofski and Dr. Nelda A. Rivera

“It may be tempting to feed deer, especially in the winter, when you think it is more difficult for a deer to find food, but a deer’s digestion and metabolism become well adapted to the food naturally available to them. Occasionally feeding deer foods that they are not used to can change their metabolism, making it harder to process their natural food and causing them to burn essential fat faster. It can actually lead to starvation instead of helping.”

A photo of a large pile of corn cobs scattered all over the ground near a woodland. In the background is a dark green pickup truck parked along side a gravel road.
A corn bait pile for attracting deer and wildlife. Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

CHAMPAIGN, IL – From infectious diseases transmitted among animals (and that could in some cases affect humans), to changes in natural behavior that may cause fatal accidents;  there are multiple reasons why not to feed wildlife.  If you care for them, you will be interested in reading the article entitled “The Damaging Effect of Feeding Wildlife”. In this article, the authors used deer as an example of the negative effect of the humans that feed them.

Read the whole story at the Outdoor Illinois Wildlife Journal, here.

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Tick surveillance and control lagging in US, study shows.

First-ever survey of tick-management programs shows clear public health gap. Entomological Society of America

“Ticks are responsible for the majority of our vector-borne illnesses in the U.S., and our programming does not adequately meet the need in its current form, for both surveillance and control,” says Emily M. Mader, MPH MPP, lead author on the study and program manager at the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, housed at Cornell University.  American Association for the Advancement of Science – June 17, 2020

While the prevalence of Lyme disease and other illnesses spread by ticks has steadily increased in the United States over the past 20 years, a new study of the state of American tick surveillance and control reveals an inconsistent and often under-supported patchwork of programs across the country. Such programs are critical in managing the public-health threat posed by ticks such as the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), shown here in multiple life stages suspended in a vial.

CHAMPAIGN, IL – A paper titled A Survey of Tick Surveillance and Control Practices in the United States “showed that less than half of public health and vector-control agencies engage in active tick surveillance, and only 12 percent directly conduct or otherwise support tick-control efforts. These and other findings from the survey, conducted by university researchers at the CDC’s five Vector-Borne Disease Regional Centers of Excellence, are published today in the Journal of Medical Entomology“

Read the whole story at the Entomology Today website.

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Zombie deer in Illinois: Fact vs. Fiction | By Shannon Callahan

“Myths surrounding chronic wasting disease (CWD) abound among wildlife enthusiasts and in misinformed corners of the internet. If you believe the headlines, these so-called “zombie deer” are poised to take over. This article dispels rumors and gives you the need-to-know facts about what CWD is and how you can help manage it.”

Picture by Michael Jeffords

“The most valuable management tool the state has is our
hunters’ collaboration. Hunters contribute to the identification of
infected areas, removal of deer in these areas, and to decreasing the
deer population density on a scale and with a disease-management
focus that is not otherwise possible with large carnivores alone.”

Zombie Deer in Illinois – Shannon Callahan [pdf]

This article originally appeared in the Illinois Audubon Society’s quarterly magazine, available to members through annual membership. See illinoisaudubon.org for more information.

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Chronic Wasting Disease Introduction, Management and Adaptable Processes of Dynamic Disease | By Nohra Mateus-Pinilla

“Participation by landowners and hunters in Illinois’ CWD management efforts demonstrates their commitment to protect the health of the deer herd and the public’s natural resource.”

Photo by Michael R. Jeffords

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Illinois sustains a nationally recognized CWD management program based on collaborative efforts between citizens and wildlife professionals. This integrated approach facilitates adaptable processes to control CWD while benefiting the hunting community and citizens of Illinois. The commitment to management and control of CWD should be sustained in order to allow scientific knowledge to advance and continue to develop additional strategies to manage this disease.”

Read the whole story at the Outdoor Illinois Wildlife Journal, here.

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Environmental Almanac: Supplemental feeding of deer a bad idea | By Rob Kanter

“If you struggle with the perception that, as a state, we too seldom get things right in Illinois, let me call your attention to the success we’ve had in managing a life-and-death wildlife issue that’s causing far more trouble in neighboring states, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).”

BILL MARCHEL • SPECIAL TO THE STAR TRIBUNE

” I’d like to be able to end this column right here, as a feel-good story, but unfortunately, I can’t. That’s because the Illinois Legislature is currently considering a bill (SB2493) that would undermine IDNR’s success managing CWD by creating conditions that would promote the transmission of diseases among wild deer.”

Read the whole story at The News-Gazette, here.

More news about deer feeding (Star Tribune) here.

 

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Soil characteristics may be related to chronic wasting disease persistence, study finds.

Relative influence of soil characteristics on the persistent presence of CWD. The relative influence is a scaled value that describes the contribution of each of soil characteristic to the prediction of the persistent presence of CWD based on the number of times a variable is used as a predictor in the model weighted by the improvement in model fit due to inclusion; see methods (Dorak et al. 2017).

 

CHAMPAIGN, IL – In the study, the team looked at the relationship between soil characteristics and presence of deer with the disease in five northern Illinois counties where infected deer are prevalent. They focused on seven physical and chemical properties of soil that could affect the ability for a prion to stick around in the environment.

Read the whole story at the ACES College News here.

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Chronic wasting disease in Illinois: resources and disease dynamics | By Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Michelle L. Green and Jan Novakofski.

Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease. Photograph by Wisconsin DNR and CWD Alliance.

 

CHAMPAIGN, IL – We know that CWD is a lethal wasting disease. Death follows a period of weight loss and a debilitating progressive set of clinical signs that include an inability to swallow, excessive salivation, tremors, and increased drinking, urination, and weakness. Protecting the deer herd from this disease has economical value to the State of Illinois, recreational value to deer hunters, and a health value for CWD-susceptible animals.

Read the whole story at the Illinois Natural History Survey blog.

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Expanding The Reach Of Animal Science: Reproduction In White-Tailed Deer | UI News Bureau

https://news.illinois.edu/files/6367/204716/39649.jpg
The CWD research team: Jan Novakofski, Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and Michelle Green. Photo by: L. Brian Stauffer

CHAMPAIGN, IL – In an effort to better understand the transmission dynamics of chronic wasting disease and the long-term health of the white-tailed deer herd in Illinois, the group recently investigated the trends in reproduction among females. The team has extraordinary access to samples through the state of Illinois Department of Natural Resources that annually collects fetuses from culled deer from January through March, a prime time for females to be pregnant.

Read the whole story at the “Tails” of Animal Sciences newsletter (March 2017, page 4).

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Record levels of banned insecticide found in Illinois otters | By Eric Freedman

 

The study published in the journal “Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety” found high concentrations of chemical compounds in the livers of 23 otters in central Illinois.

“Thus otters serve as biomonitors — organisms that contain information on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the environment — of wildlife exposure,” according to a new study. They also serve as biomonitors for human health because the same toxic chemicals found in otters have also been found in people who eat contaminated fish.

Estimated use of dieldrin. Graphic: Samantha Carpenter, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“there are specific watersheds that are areas of concern — not only for otters — for any of the wildlife species that are living in those places, especially those at the top of the food chain.”

 

Read the whole story at Great Lakes Echo, here.

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Targeted culling of deer controls disease with little effect on hunting | By Diana Yates

A new study found that the targeted culling of deer prevents the rampant spread of chronic wasting disease to healthy deer. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.
A new study found that the targeted culling of deer prevents the rampant spread of chronic wasting disease to healthy deer. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.

CHAMPAIGN, IL. – Chronic wasting disease, the deer-equivalent of mad cow disease, has crept across the U.S. landscape from west to east. It appeared first in captive mule deer in Colorado in the late 1960s. By 1981, it had escaped to the wild. It reached the Midwest by 2002. Little is known about its potential to infect humans.

Read the whole story by the University of Illinois News Bureau here.