HARRISBURG • The Pennsylvania Game Commission is asking Sentinel-area residents to contact the agency regarding the discovery of any ‘‘suspicious’’ deaths of deer found locally. The Commission’s Southeast Region Office can be reached at 610-926-3136; or 610-926-3137.
‘‘Four (dead) deer were reported to us Dec. 9, and we performed a necropsy on one – a small fawn that apparently was born late – that indicated dehydration likely played a role in the death, due to the animal being in poor condition overall,’’ according to Travis Lau, the PGC’s communications director.
‘‘We did not receive reports of other deaths until last week, and a game warden went to the area (Jan. 4) and was able to see the remains of many of the additional deer, though none were suitable for testing.
‘‘We are asking anyone in the area that knows of a suspicious deer death to contact us because we are interested in examining additional deer,” said Lau.
‘‘One important point is – this is not chronic wasting disease,’’ Lau added. ‘‘CWD kills deer slowly, not suddenly. But if all of these deer died from the same cause, we do not have an answer as to what it was.’’