Deer covered in tumors caught on camera
FOX NEWS - Warning: This article contains graphic images.
An unfortunate deer covered with tumors has been caught on camera by a photographer in southwestern Minnesota.
Julie Carrow posted images of the deer on Facebook on July 25. “This to me is just heartbreaking,” she wrote, noting that she had contacted wildlife officials. “Hoping this post will help this little man,” she added.
Citypages reports that Carrow was photographing senior portraits in Pipestone when the wart-covered deer wandered by.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources told Citypages that the deer was suffering from a very bad case of fibromas. “They are popularly referred to as skin tumors, or simply warts,” the Department explains, on its website.
Fibromatosis, however, is not a cause of deer mortality, according to officials, who added that the disease is not known to infect humans. The Quality Deer Management Association notes that particularly dense fibromas can impact a deer’s eyesight, breathing, feeding or mobility, which can leave them more at risk for predators.
“Its main significance lies in the consternation and concern experienced by the hunter who shoots a deer covered with ugly-looking lumps,” the Department says. “Though they don't harm the meat, fibromas are repulsive to most persons and therefore render a fine trophy aesthetically undesirable.”