Deer across the US have been spotted with tumor-like growths hanging off their bodies, joining rabbits and squirrels as animals showing signs of widespread disease. Wildlife officials have already identified the condition as deer cutaneous fibroma, better known as deer warts.
From the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest, pictures on social media continue to document cases of strange bubbles growing all over local deer, from their faces to their legs. Over the last two months, people have photographed deformed deer in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said: "Papillomas are most frequently seen during the late summer and into the fall, probably due to increased biting insect activity during this time of year." The virus mainly spreads through disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks, which pass on the blood of infected deer to healthy animals nearby.
However, the condition is rarely fatal. The deer's immune system fights off the virus, and the warts shrink and disappear on their own after a few months. In rare cases, if the warts grow too large or become infected with bacteria, they can cause problems like blocking a deer's vision or ability to eat. Deer warts are not a new condition afflicting wildlife. Scientists believe it has been around for centuries, and studies on papillomaviruses affecting wildlife in the US go back to the 1950s.
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