Five elk in Jackson County die of ticks
Wisconsin
Five of the elk transferred from Kentucky to Wisconsin earlier this year died in mid-April in the Jackson County holding pen. DNR says cause of death is a tick-borne disease.
That's a tough start when you are lose 19 percent of the new elk to tick bites before they even get out of the pen.
Not good. Now they will lose another 60% to Wolves.
20% to Bears. 10% to poachers 5 % to vehicle collision and the rest mired in a cranberry bog
Oh boy life was easy in Kentucky
That is a short window for the elk to get local ticks on them and then die so quick. I'm thinking they had the ticks before they got here.
Babesiosis Is nasty bad and is potentially fatal with human transmission.
According to the CDC Kentucky is not a big source. Wisconsin is another matter.
I do not support deer, elk, or high fence operations. IMO they should be banned. They are wild animals, not pets! However, imagine if this would have occurred on a private elk farm operation! The DNR would be all over the poor bastard, fines, legal action…Transporting wild animals from one state to another is risky business. All we get now is that is too bad, so unfortunate…
High fence operations are the only thing that is currently keeping rhino populations from extinction. Same can be said of other species that were saved in a similar fashion. Do you support zoo's?
At any rate, this really has nothing to do with high fence operations. it is an unfortunate incident where no one wins.
I would bet stress had a lot to do with it. My dogs have all carried lymes at one time or another, showing up in their yearly blood work, but rarely showing symptoms. The only dog that had to be treated spent a week at a kennel not eating. A good buddy told me the DNR lost almost half their elk they moved from Clam Lake to the Flambeau State Forest last year. They left them in the pen until they calved. By the end they were walking and laying in the mud. All the calves died and a couple bulls were too weak and got eaten by wolves right away. This year they learned and let them out early. I think they lost one cow right away. The rest are heading back to Clam Lake.
Shed, real quick. They say every dog will test positive in WI. May only be a carrier its whole life never getting the disease.
I really cant recall ever hearing about Babesiosis in WI. You would think if anyone would have heard about. From what I know of other tick diseases. There is no way it started in WI. Reading up on this. It sure looks to be much like the rest. For death to occur will take some time. Someone should have noticed they were sick.
Why were they not fully tested leaving KY? If it was not contracted in WI. They may have just created a hot spot for the disease.
Just not good all around!
