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A New Threat to the Endangered Florida Key Deer

A New Threat to the Endangered Florida Key Deer

October 24, 20161241Views

Just 50 years ago the Florida Key deer was nearing extinction, with barely two dozen specimens remaining. Once they were given protection under the Endangered Species Act, the Key deer began to rebound. Their numbers have grown to more than 1,000 but today, the Key deer is facing a new threat.

Wildlife officials have sent out a warning to residents and visitors to the Florida Keys to be wary of the New World screwworm. This dastardly creature has not been seen in the US for more than 30 years, but was once responsible for millions of dollars in lost livestock. The US Department of Agriculture confirmed in September that the screwworm has returned and has been killing Key deer.

Forest with deer
Photo from Eirik Olsen/Unsplash

The New World screwworm looks like a common housefly but has orange eyes. They lay their eggs on the open wounds of living animals like the Key deer. When they hatch, the larvae begin eating the animal’s flesh. Unlike common flies, screwworm larvae eat living tissue and can essentially eat an animal alive. It’s a slow and gruesome death for the infected animal, and can be passed to others as the animals roam.

Florida Key deer are especially susceptible this time of year due to the end of the summer rutting season. Males enter into combat, butting and gouging each other with their horns, leaving the kinds of wounds the screwworm finds very hospitable. About 30 deer have been found dead or have been put down in the last few weeks.

A relative of the white-tailed deer, Key deer are also called “toy deer” due to their small stature. Adult males weigh between 55 and 75 pounds when fully grown, and average about 32 inches high at the shoulder. Once populous through the lower region of the Florida Keys, they now mainly reside on Big Pine Key and few of the small nearby islands. Florida Key deer are able to swim, allowing them to cross back and forth between the islands.

Deer in fort lee new jersey
Photo from Noriely Fernandez/Unsplash

Key deer populations are naturally kept in delicate balance. They have a short lifespan, with males living about three years and females about six. Does typically only give birth to one fawn per mating season, which means the population growth is slow. A mass die off could have a severe effect on their numbers.

The Florida Department of Agriculture has already launched a counterattack against this new threat, by releasing millions of sterilized male New World screwworms. The eggs produced when these males mate with females will not hatch, effectively wiping out the screwworm population. If this solution proves effective, it could also be used with mosquitoes as a way to combat the Zika virus.

Related articles: 5 Endangered Animal Species of Yellowstone National Park, The Marsupial Life of the Endangered Numbat, Getting to Know the Endangered Okapi

Featured Image from Marko Hankkila/Unsplash