Rare 'Bullwinkle Syndrome' Deer Caught on Mississippi Trail Cam

Have you ever seen a whitetail deer with a moose-like snout?

John Baker has seen thousands of whitetail deer on the land he lives and hunts on near Satartia, Mississippi, but one buck in particular certainly stands out from the rest. This fella has a snout that looks like a moose, giving it a cartoonish appearance and an equally compelling name: Bullwinkle Syndrome.

This rare condition is seldom seen, with the earliest known case occurring twelve years ago. Little is known about the cause, although this is what the QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) has figured out to date:

"The swollen snouts of afflicted deer result from chronic (long-term) inflammation of the tissues of the nose, mouth and upper lip. All of the cases involved similar colonies of bacteria in the inflamed tissues, but isolating the guilty bacteria has been difficult due to poor sample condition and contamination from many other non-guilty bacteria. How and where deer acquire the Bullwinkle bacteria is still unknown."

Baker has photographed his 'Bullwinkle' for a period of seven months, and other than the abnormal snout, the animal appears healthy. The QDMA does not believe 'Bullwinkle Syndrome' deer poses a problem to deer populations, nor do they think the bacteria is easily spread from animal to animal, if at all.

It isn't suggested hunters consume meat from a 'Bullwinkle' deer, as it is unknown if any secondary bacterial infections are present in the meat or blood.

Have you ever seen a whitetail deer with this affliction? Share your pictures.

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