JWD Your personal alerts
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 43(4), 2007, pp. 784-788
© Wildlife Disease Association  2007
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by VerCauteren, K. C.
Right arrow Articles by Lavelle, M. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by VerCauteren, K. C.
Right arrow Articles by Lavelle, M. J.

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Elk Use of Wallows and Potential Chronic Wasting Disease Transmission

 Kurt C. VerCauteren1,3, Patrick W. Burke1, Gregory E. Phillips1, Justin W. Fischer1, Nathan W. Seward1, Bruce A. Wunder2 and Michael J. Lavelle1

1 United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521-2154, USA;
2 Colorado State University, Department of Biology, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1878, USA
3 Corresponding author (email: kurt.c.vercauteren{at}aphis.usda.gov)

ABSTRACT:   Deposition of prions into the environment by infected animals may contribute to transmission and spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among free-ranging cervids, and identification of such environmental sources may provide an avenue for managing CWD. We evaluated the role that wallow use by elk (Cervus elaphus) may play in CWD transmission by monitoring wallows with animal-activated cameras throughout their period of use. We monitored 39 wallows from 5 August 2005 to 14 October 2005. Elk visited 20 sites; we recorded 22 events when only male elk wallowed and 374 additional events when male and female elk had naso-oral contact with wallow contents. Because wallows are foci of male elk activity, behaviors at wallows could potentially contribute to the maintenance and transmission of CWD. Our findings, however, suggest that because wallows are only used an average of one or two times a season they may not be important in CWD transmission. The data also suggest that mineral licks could be more important in CWD transmission because they were used more frequently and by three species that contract CWD.
  Key words:  Cervus elaphus, chronic wasting disease, elk, transmission, wallow.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the Wildlife Disease Association.