North Dakota Deer Hunters: Not Good, EHD Is Back In The State

Not good deer hunters, EHD is back in the state and not far from Bismarck Mandan.

I got a first-hand look at how bad the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) was around Bismarck in October of 2021. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is a virus that attacks Whitetail Deer by biting midges.

It's a very cruel disease that can plague big game animals, especially Whitetail Deer.  The Whitetail population is still trying to rebound from that devastation a few years back.

According to the Bismarck Tribune, That year's dry hot summer made for perfect conditions for the insects to really take hold of the Whitetail population, and it was especially worse around the Bismarck area.

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is nothing new, it's been present in the state for decades.

Back in the fall of 2021, the disease extended from south of Bismarck along the Missouri River north to Garrison Dam.  A smaller area near Williston was also present.

It appears the warm and dry last couple of months have made conditions once again ripe for EHD to take hold of part of the North Dakota deer population.

This time around, it appears the first sign of EHD in North Dakota comes from Stark County.

According to an article on KX News, The North Dakota Game & Fish Department is investigating reports that some deer in northern Stark County (north of Dickinson) have tested positive for the virus.  So far, there's been about 20 reports of dead deer.

Hopefully, it's just an isolated area and this will not spread further in the state.  However, deer hunters who will be hunting in this area should be prepared for lower Whitetail numbers.

What I witnessed a few years ago while hunting pheasants near my house was scary.  It seemed like there were just as many bucks affected as does.  I saw some very big racks too.  One, in particular, was a 6 by 6, 12 pointer that I remember, that I'm sure somebody had on their trail camera.

Here's a photo I snapped back then while pheasant hunting that evening.  WARNING disturbing image.  Nature is cruel.