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It’s not a pretty sight, but it’s one that’s becoming more common in parts of the state.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has launched a study looking at the occurrence of mange in black bears, hoping to find out the prevalence of the skin disease. A graduate student from the University of Georgia will work with the agency to identify a technique to determine prevalence, and the Game Commission has already identified several hotspots in the state where the skin disease seems to appear more often.
“It’s still relatively low in the northeast, but in the southwest and north central it has increased dramatically,” PGC Northeast Region biologist Kevin Wenner said. “We typically deal with a handful to a dozen bears with evidence of mange throughout the year.”
In 2014, Wildlife Conservation Officers euthanized 56 bears for mange across the state, and several more were brought to check stations by hunters. Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent estimated the percentage of bears with mange to be between three and 12 percent, but hopes the study will present a more accurate figure.
While mange is often associated with foxes and coyotes, Game Commission officials aren’t sure if the same mites – Sarcoptes, are responsible for causing the skin disease in bears. Whichever species of mite is responsible, biologists know that mange is contagious and can lead to death in certain situations.
“The mites lay eggs in tunnels they burrow under the skin, and that causes the infected animals to lose hair and become vulnerable to winter conditions,” Wenner said. “It weakens their overall body condition and makes them more susceptible.”
As far as bear contracting mange from canines, Wenner said it’s a possibility.
“If the animals are using the same den that creates an opportunity for transfer,” he said.
Interestingly, there is a treatment option that the agency deploys for bears with mange. Wenner said if a bear is trapped by a WCO for nuisance issues or other reasons and it has a case of mange that isn’t severe, it is given an injection of Ivermectin – an antiparasitic drug commonly used on livestock.
Wenner said bears with severe cases of mange almost look like an entirely different animal with a skinny, hairless body. One bear that was brought to a check station, he said, had mange so severe that it wasn’t fit for consumption and the hunter was issued a new tag.
“The majority of cases we see have mange around the snout and head, and those are the treatable cases,” Wenner said. “Within the last decade it’s become a lot more prevalent and has expanded from Pennsylvania north into New York and to the south into Maryland and West Virginia. Thankfully our region isn’t a hotbed for it, right now.”