The large, bulbous growths visible on this deer are likely cutaneous fibromas, benign tumors caused by a deer-specific papillomavirus. These growths, often dark and hairless, typically form on the neck, head, and body and are spread through direct contact or biting insects like mosquitoes. While generally harmless, severe cases - like the one seen here - can interfere with vital functions such as eating, vision, or movement, making survival in the wild more challenging.
Though these fibromas are not contagious to humans or other non-cervid animals, they can spread among deer populations, especially in areas with high densities and biting insects. Wildlife authorities might monitor such cases, but unless the growths are significantly impairing the deer, intervention is rarely required
The parasite’s modus operandi is to find a suitable host animal, attach itself, and then extract nutrients or resources at the host's expense to sustain its own life cycle.
Ticks are opportunistic parasites that seek out areas on their hosts where they can feed with minimal disturbance and optimal access to blood vessels. The eyes, ears, and other facial regions of animals are prime targets for a couple of reasons.
The skin around the eyes and other facial areas is often thinner and more vascular, providing easier access to blood. Animals may groom less effectively around their eyes, allowing ticks to attach and feed with less risk of being dislodged. Grooming behaviors typically focus on areas that are easier to reach.
Additionally, many tick species release chemicals that numb the skin and reduce inflammation around the feeding site. This clever trick helps them stay hidden, allowing them to feed on their host for as long as they can avoid detection.
Parasites, like all other forms of life, will do what they must to survive and reproduce. If that means taking out the eyes of a deer fawn to ensure their own sustenance, they will not think twice about doing so
firsthand account of surviving a bear attack on Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park on May 19th.
This is long. It exceeds IG’s 2200 character limit for captions, so look for it to continue in the comments:
“I’ve thought long and hard about how to share my encounter with a female grizzly and her cub. Let me preface this by saying how much I love and respect wildlife. Anyone who knows me knows this about me. In fact, the second thing I said to the park rangers was, “Please don’t kill the bear, she was defending her cub.” What happened up on Signal Mountain was a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Sunday afternoon, I was attacked by a mother grizzly protecting her cub. It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced. I’ve been shot at, mortared, and experienced IED explosions. I am a disabled veteran in the Army Reserve
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I was walking through the woods on Signal Mountain, looking to photograph a Great Grey Owl. My wife and I had learned that this was a hotspot for the species, and I was hopeful I’d see one. I told my wife I would be back at the parking lot in one hour. At the time of the attack, about 1.25 hours had passed. I knew she would be getting worried, so I decided to B-line it back to the car using my phone’s GPS. Due to poor service, I could only see the park identification on the GPS and my current location. I started to walk fast to that location, with a really uncomfortable feeling. I was breaking branches, singing, and talking to myself aloud – things that can help prevent a “surprise encounter” with a brown bear.
I was walking through a thick wooded area in a valley when I noticed a brown bear cub running up a hill about 50-70 yards in front of me. I knew this wasn’t good. I unholstered my bear spray and saw the mother bear charging. I stood my ground, shouted, and attempted to deploy the bear spray, but she had already closed the gap. When she pounced, I opted to turn, give her my back, and lay down in the prone position on my belly, bracing for the ride, and interlocking my hands behind my neck to protect my vitals
Sac Lunch
📸 by Claudio Bacha
Lioness extracts a stillborn zebra foal from the belly of its dead mother.
A heartbreaking end to a life not yet begun
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A leopard took a run at this female impala, but could not get her down for the count. In the process, she sustained a vicious injury to her right flank. Now, it's very possible that this impala will end up getting jumped by something else or succumbing to the festering infection that this wound will likely acquire. However, this is not a guarantee
For one thing, no matter how much pain this impala might be in, she will walk around like it doesn't bother her. This is called pain masking and it is a strategy that injured animals use to avoid attracting unwanted attention from predators looking to pick off any easy targets. Secondly, infection isn’t always the guaranteed outcome. It's highly likely that it will become infected, but it is by no means 100%.
Even if it does - which again, is likely - there is also a chance that it will survive that too. In the early days of running this account I would have said no way, but I’ve seen crazier things happen. I remember sharing a photo of a deer that had lost either all four or just its front hooves. Either way, this thing was running around on exposed leg bones for God only knows how long before it went to forever sleep.
This is an extreme example, but I’ve also received countless submissions of deer missing legs. These don’t pop off like lego, there is a significant amount of pain and exposed inner tissue that no doubt would have afflicted at least a percentage of these poor souls with debilitating sickness before clearing up and allowing them to live the rest of their lives with a wobble to their walk.
In short, I used to write these photos off as dead animals walking. Since then, experience taught me that resilience is a wild animals middle name. It's baked into their DNA, and all these hardy bastards need is a whisper of a chance to prove us all dead wrong about their perceived outcome.
This impala was killed 3 hours later by a pair of lions, but my point still stands
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