“I've never seen anything like it,” says veterinarian Kerry Mower of the Hunt and Fisheries Department. “I've talked to other professionals and no one has seen anything close in scale to this case. It is highly unlikely that the cause is a hemorrhagic viral infection. The animals would not then be lying in a heap so close to each other …
What is she talking about? About a recent incident in New Mexico, 20 miles north of Las Vegas, which for some reason is barely reported in the media. About 120 adult deer have been found dead in less than a square mile, according to earthfiles.com, partly from a private ranch. It happened on August 27th.
The experts managed to make a photograph of the animals lying among rare trees. Neither a hemorrhagic infection nor even anthrax would have this effect. It seemed that all animals died in less than 24 hours, since the condition of the carcasses was the same for all. But everything will depend on the study of samples taken from bodies and from stomachs. No test results have been reported yet.
However, when shooting from above, not far from the place of the pestilence, a strange circle in the vegetation was noticed, similar to the famous crop circles. Are animal deaths related to the appearance of this circle in the grass? This is also unknown. So far, unfortunately, we have only riddles at our disposal for the first and second cases.
Interview with Veterinary Expert Kerry Mower
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“On August 27, I received a call from a private rancher,” says veterinarian Kerry Mower. “I was informed of 30 deer bodies found dead. This is a very high mortality rate even for an epidemic, and therefore I had to go there and see for myself. While I was examining the bodies at the ranch, two people reported 60 more dead bodies outside the ranch. Later we went for an aerial inspection in a private jet and counted only 75 bodies in the open area and about 30-40 more carcasses among the trees. A count of two other workers gave figures in the region of 113. That is, there are no more than 120 bodies. In my memory, there has never been such a massive death in New Mexico. And only among the deer. There were no other animals there.
- What can kill so many deer in 24 hours without hurting other animals?
- It may be some kind of poisonous substance found in the food that only they eat.
- Where can it appear there?
-Something got into the water or the ground, and then on the plants. It can be blown by the wind and fall on leaves and branches.
- When examining animal tissues, did you notice anything unusual?
- The strangest thing was that it seemed as if all the animals died at the same time. Curiously, there were signs of a struggle or convulsions around the bodies on the ground. Some tissue lesions reminded me of the results of death from a hemorrhagic infection. This sometimes happens in cases of epizootics in white-tailed deer. But it never happens as quickly as in this case.
-So this is not a hemorrhagic disease?
-We have not received the test results yet, but I have a high probability that it will not be a hemorrhagic disease.
- What do you think could be the reason?
- The results of such tests take a long time.
“But it turns out that this is not anthrax, not hunter's bullets, not a lightning strike, or pesticides.
- Yes. No bullets and nothing hinting at murder. Anthrax tests were immediately negative. No traces of pesticides were found either, and in that area there are only small plots of land where grass is grown for hay. On one we saw a large circle.
-What about poison in the water?
- It was one of our versions. Therefore, after flying around, we returned to the ranch and collected water from several sources. Later we sent them for testing and are waiting for the results.
- Were there lightning burns on the bodies?
- Not. Lightning can be safely excluded.
- It turns out that the death of these 120 deer is still really a mystery, covered in darkness?
- At the moment, yes.
Video about the incident from the KRQE News 13 TV channel