PARASITES, DISEASES, INJURIES, AND ANOMALIES OF THE COLUMBIAN BLACK-TAILED DEER, ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS COLUMBIANUS (RICHARDSON), IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Abstract

The occurrence of parasites, parasitic disease, some non-parasitic diseases, and certain anomalous conditions in the Columbian black-tailed deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus (Richardson), in southern British Columbia is outlined. The parasitological findings are in two categories: those based upon a random sample of 40 wild deer, and those based upon 25 additional deer examined in their entirety and others in part. Twenty-five species of parasites, 8 arthropods and 17 helminths, were recovered. Comparison of parasitism in young and adult deer reveals a few differences in the species of parasites present but both age groups are almost equally susceptible to arthropods and to helminths. Five species of parasites, Cephenemyia jellisoni, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Dictyocaulus viviparus, Fascioloides magna, and Nematodirus filicollis, were found to induce disease that was not infrequently fatal. Some evidence was secured that cursorial predators selectively remove the more heavily parasitized deer.Ten anomalous conditions arising from non-parasitic disease, injury, or congenital deformity are described but none of these was sufficiently frequent to take an important place in the life equation of the deer. Incidence figures are given for various anomalies of form and position of the teeth and for dentoalveolar abscesses and one instance of caries and one of paradontal disease are reported.The study did not include bacteria and viruses as agents causing disease in deer and the only pathogenic micro-organism identified was Actinomyces israeli.