The approximately one-year-old white-tailed deer was wandering quite disoriented through a Tennessee suburb when they discovered it had hair covering both eyeballs, according to the National Deer Association.
This is an example of corneal dermoids , which occur when tissue of a particular type grows in the wrong place in the body. The deer was bleeding, disoriented, and apparently not afraid of humans.
Experts suspect that the animal was infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) hence they decided to euthanize the deer to prevent the spread of this fatal disease.
After being sent to the Southeastern Wildlife Disease Cooperative Study Unit (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia, the examination determined that the deer did not have chronic wasting disease but rather epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), which can cause fever and disorientation.
If this explains their behavior, why is the hair in their eyes due?
Corneal dermoids, as in the case of this deer, often contain elements of normal skin, including hair follicles, sweat glands, collagen and fat. The masses are generally benign (non-invasive) and congenital, probably as a result of an embryonic developmental defect , ”the researchers wrote.
This means that the deer likely developed this strange condition in the womb, where its corneal tissue did not form properly.
Referencia: National Deer Association
