COVID-19 In North Dakota’s Deer Population Is A Pretty Good Bet

Looks like it will be a pretty good upcoming deer hunting season in North Dakota.  The bow season will be here before you know it on September 3rd.  The deer/rifle season is set to open up on November 5th.  The combination of light snow over most of North Dakota last winter, and mild temps did wonders for the states deer population.

According to an article from the Grand Forks Herald, the North Dakota Game and Fish increased the number of deer tags by a total just over 3,000 from last year's 2020 season.  That is good news for North Dakota's deer hunters.

I was reading an article that caught my eye from National Geographic recently.  It's estimated in America, that 40% of the White-tailed deer population has had COVID-19.  It's believed they are spreading virus amongst each other.  It's unclear how they first became infected.  Other animals have been documented with the virus, such as animals in zoos, dog, cats and even minks.  I'm pretty sure my yellow lab had COVID-19 late last year as she was sick as a dog for a few days (no pun intended) but recovered fairly quickly.

So, it is possible for a human to pass the coronavirus to animals.  Experts believe, that is the most likely scenario on how the United States deer population has become infected.  The good news for deer, none of the animals infected seemed sick.  They appear to be asymptomatic, and are able to fight off the virus.  Maybe we can learn something from Bambi?

Hunters shouldn't worry about catching COVID-19 from Deer in the wild, according to the article.  Highly unlikely.  Same with eating properly cooked venison.  Bring on the deer season.