Mississippi has produced some giant bucks and even a world record. Here are the top six deer on record in Mississippi by category. Brian Broom
Deer exhibited clinical signs of disease
A second case of chronic wasting disease in Mississippi was discovered in Pontotoc County on Oct. 8 and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks released information this week about the circumstances. According to MDWFP's Major Chris Reed, a resident called the Pontotoc Sheriff's Department to report a young buck was behaving strangely.
"Actually, the caller described the deer as attacking his dog," Reed said. "He was acting abnormally for a typical white-tailed deer. He said the dog was going crazy because the deer wouldn't leave."
Reed said he's unsure if the deer was actually attempting to attack the dog, but had no doubt the deer's behavior was odd. Reed said the caller attempted to scare the deer by firing two shots into the air and the deer didn't react. The resident then shot the deer and killed it.
"When the officer arrived, everything lined up with what the caller said," Reed said.
Sample tissue from the deer was taken to the Mississippi Veterinary and Diagnostic Lab in Pearl where it was tested twice for CWD. Both tests yielded positive results. Sample tissue has now been shipped to the National Veterinary Sciences Laboratory in Iowa for an additional, definitive test.
"We're waiting for those results," Reed said. "It will be a week, two weeks before we get those test results back."
Reed said if the test indicates a false positive, no action will be taken. If the result is positive, the department's response will mirror actions taken within the 25-mile radius of where a CWD-positive buck was found in Issaquena County earlier this year.
However, there is one important difference in the two plans. In the response plan for the Issaquenna County buck, MDWFP officers collected samples from 481 deer through active shooting operations to determine prevalence and spatial distribution of the disease. If a response plan is implemented in the Pontotoc County area, the department does not plan to engage in active shooting operations to collect samples.
"We plan to use hunter-harvested deer to obtain samples," Reed said. "We hope to obtain the samples we need and we hope to get there from the hunter-harvested deer."
Currently, there are 14 locations across the state where hunters can deposit deer heads in freezers for testing. Reed said four additional drop-off sites will be located in the area near the Pontotoc County buck's location. Those locations will be announced at a later date.
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