Growths, lumps seen on some deer in Washington

WDFW sees uptick in calls about lumps on deer

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said it is seeing an increased number of calls about lumps, bumps, abscesses and warts on deer.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - What is going on with the local deer population?

People around the northwest have reported seeing some things rather peculiar with the wild animals. Some deer look a little different and some are acting out of the ordinary.

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, more people have been reporting deer appearing to have one or more bumps in the last couple of months.

Scientists call them fibromas or papilloma, but they're better known as "deer warts."

"Sometimes if they are larger, they're kind of pedunculated, they hang down and are subject to abrasion and getting injured," said Dr. Kristin Mansfield, state wildlife veterinarian. "There can be some bleeding."

Warts can vary from mild to moderate cases.

"They can range from the size of a pea, maybe to the size of a grape," Mansfield said. "Sometimes, they can get even bigger than that."

Some cases are more serious and create life-altering effects on the animal. Dr. Mansfield told FOX 13; these cases are less common. Warts don't kill the animal outright, but if they form around key body parts like the eyes, mouth or groin – it will take its toll on the deer.

"Occasional individual animals — they will get really massive infections with these warts," Dr. Manfield said. "We suspect that these deer have some kind of immuno-suppression problem or their bodies aren't able to fight off the virus that causes the warts."

So, what's causing this?

"Just like the human warts, they come from direct contact," Dr. Manfield said. "Maybe sharing the same rubbing post, maybe congregating where people are feeding them, and they're in close contact."

Mansfield told FOX 13, WDFW strongly believes insects help the spread of warts during the end of summer.

Like human warts, they may cause some itching to the deer. Otherwise, if you're a hunter — WDFW said the meat is still good.

"They're limited to the skin, and you can just cut them off," Dr. Mansfield said.

Deer cannot spread warts to humans and vice versa. Though, there is a separate rarity that's come up this summer – the plague.

"A few months ago, they found a deer in Idaho - kind of in the central area of Idaho," said Dr. Elis Fisk, WSU Anatomic Pathology Resident. "It appeared to be blind."

Idaho Department of Fish and Game sent the deer's body to Washington State University's research lab for further testing.

"Plague is a disease caused by a bacteria," Dr. Fisk said. "So, we tested the eyes, and we did detect it in the eyes. There was a lot of inflammation in both eyes. The eyes appeared to be quite large, larger than we would expect for that."

A deer suffering from plague is a limited find.

"Deer are generally more resistant to plague than other species in the sea and wildlife," Dr. Fisk said. "A lot of the time, it can be in rodents — or the animals that might consume them. Mountain lions, for example."

While there aren't any known cases of people contracting plague from deer, there are other situations where a human got it from other animals like prairie dogs.

"The chances of that happening are pretty rare, but not zero," Dr. Fisk said.

In Idaho and Washington, WDFW encourages people to report any wild animal you come across that is sick, injured or dead. In Washington, the department has an online form you can fill out and submit in just minutes here. In Idaho, you can call Fish and Game at (208) 334-2920.