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Into the Outdoors: What is Mange?

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Some time ago, my old friend Dave Lewis sent me a photo he captured on his trail camera.  It showed an adult bear with a severe infestation of mange. I did some research on the topic.  Unfortunately, most of what I was able to find consisted of foot-long scientific names and terms.  I was, however, able to glean the following info.

First of all, mange is nothing like dandruff.  Rather, it is caused by tiny arachnids called mites, which are relatives of spiders.  There are a number of types of mange, but their results are pretty similar.  The most common form of mange in wildlife is sarcoptic mange.

Mange mites burrow into the outer layer of skin and make tunnels, wherein they lay their eggs.  When the eggs hatch, the larvae will either stay in the tunnels or migrate to areas of the host animal’s body. Symptoms include hair thinning and loss, and smelly, crusty patches.  For whatever reason, red foxes are the most affected species of wildlife, and frequently die of the disease. The only time that I have seen a mangy wild animal involved a fox, years ago, while I was jogging along the Allegheny River. I don’t know if it was a red or a gray fox, as it didn’t have enough hair on it to tell. It was alive, but barely. Virtually every mammal can contract mange.  I once had a coonhound who, in a surprisingly short time, lost almost all his hair. I, of course, took him to the vet, who provided medicine to kill the mites and restore his coat. The most common method of transmission is direct contact with another infected animal. However, the mites and nymphs can also survive off the host for a limited amount of time.  High humidity and low temperatures enable them to survive longer without a host. An animal can become infected simply by entering an area contaminated by these mites and nymphs.  

A mange infestation will eventually cause the host to become lethargic and possibly stop eating. Often, bears will fail to den up and will freeze to death in the winter cold.  

There is a theory that thinning out populations will halt the spread of mange, but it seems to have a lot of holes in it, due to the aforementioned infestation by mites and nymphs that drop off their hosts. There are actually a fair number of treatments of the disease when it occurs in domesticated animals, but they are almost impossible to use on free-ranging wild animals. In the case of bears, the Game Commission treats those that they capture that have less than fifty percent of their body affected. The others, I suppose, are euthanized.  

People who must handle carcasses of mangy animals are urged to take precautions, as although rare, there are cases of mange in humans. In fact, scabies, which is a form of mange, is not all that uncommon in humans.

On another front, there are still people clamoring for a youth, or should I say child, buck season. In my opinion, this is a totally ridiculous idea. To top it off, some want a system of permitting which would allow six-year-olds to participate. Come on now. If I were to see a photo of a kid that little with a rifle powerful enough to kill a deer, I would find it totally unbelievable. I believe it would be another opportunity for an adult to get an extra buck.

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