Kill a deer, Save a biker

August 16, 2010

Dozens of deer are dropping like flies near south suburban Crete.
Residents are finding dead or dying deer in their backyards and in forest preserves along the eastern border of Will County, which at last count was home to more than 600 deer.

"We're just accumulating so many of them it's scary," Crete resident David Green said. "This morning, another died in my boss' backyard. They're all over the place. The smell is horrendous."
More than 30 deer were discovered to be dying from an insect-born virus known as EHD, or epizootic hemorrhagic disease, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which began monitoring the situation late last month.

Residents such as Green have found deer frothing at the mouth, approaching homes and humans, and dying near creeks -- all signs of EHD.
The outbreak in the area near Crete is relatively small. The last major outbreak in Illinois in 2007 killed 1,900 deer in 57 counties.

SouthtownStar