The results of a groundbreaking new study indicate that chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk may be spread by excreted proteins found in the infected animal’s feces. 

The report, published in the September 9 issue of the journal Nature reveals that CWD-symptomatic prions (or modified proteins) are found in the droppings of deer months before clinical symptoms of the disease are seen in the animals, according to the research team, at University of California, San Francisco and the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Wildlife Research Center.

Breeder :

A fascinating new scientific study dispels a widely held assumption among hunters and biologists alike that older, dominant male whitetail deer generally prevail in the breeding process and contribute overwhelmingly to any given herd’s overall genetics. 

The study, appearing in the August issue of the Journal of Mammology, reveals that bucks of all ages and maturity generally have an equal chance at breeding.