Community Chat

[golding76]

These panthers are mesmerizingly beautiful.  I hope the authorities solve this mystery soon.  

[JillyMarie]

This is not just attackings panthers.  Dogs and cats are also being impacted by this neurological disease.

[Mindy D]

I just hope this is not coming from a transmissible prion disease. Cervids, deer, reindeer, sika deer, moose, elk, have been hit by a prion disease, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), that is spreading across the country. It’s been found in 26 states and in three provinces in Canada. It’s also spread to South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The number of cases have exploded in the last few years. This disease is known as a spongiform encephalopathy and is similar to Mad Cow Disease, human CKJD, scrapie in sheep and Kuru in a tribe in Papua. CWD causes extreme neurological damage before leading to the death of the affected animal or person. I hope our Florida deer have not been hit yet and that these panthers have not been affected by eating infected deer. According to experts monitoring the spread of the disease in cervids worldwide, it hasn’t been seen in a Florida deer yet, but it’s spreading so rapidly, who knows.