Is Your Deer Infested with Parasites?

Here's a news flash from the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) about what might be living inside that deer you just tagged. The parasites are a bit weird, really creepy, but fortunately, of no threat to humans. What a relief. Seems like with the Ebola scare and flu season, all we need now is to fear our deer.

These wiggly critters include the:

1. Liver fluke, which likes to feed on deer blood.
2. Large lungworm. Spaghetti on the slither.
3. Meningeal worm, which lives in the brain and, surprise, might cause some neural problems.
4. Arterial worm. If you see a deer and you think he's taken a pinch of snuff because of a large chaw on his jaw, think again. This worm resembles tobacco.
5. Abdominal worm. This one is often discovered by hunters when slicing into the abdomen of a deer.
6. Larval tapeworm. Do you have a dog?
7. Sarcocystis. Someone call House, because this muscle dweller sounds like something from that show.
8. Nasal bots. I've felt like I've had these, too, after the flu, but these are maggots inside deer nostrils.
9. Muscle worms. These could be in the backstraps (but again, these worms will not affect you).
10. Large stomach worms. I'm not sure if the worms are big or the stomach is big, but hey, I am a grammar nut.

Of course, it's important to remember that these parasites are nothing new, and just a part of nature's natural order. Same as ticks, lice and chiggers. But to read about them in more detail, check out the QDMA article.