Two Montana elk test positive for chronic wasting disease
Bull Elk
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials announced on Friday that an elk in southeast Montana tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. The elk was located on private land in Hunting District 704 north of the Custer National Forest.
This was only the fourth elk across the state to test positive for the always-fatal neurological disease since 2017. However, also in October, a fifth elk tested positive in Hunting District 322 in the Ruby Mountains east of Dillon, a region with the highest concentration of the disease in Montana. This hunter-harvested animal was the first CWD-positive elk in the Ruby Mountains.
According to FWP biologists, the bull elk in southeast Montana was showing symptoms of the disease in mid-October and appeared very thin and lethargic. It was hanging out at a water tank for several days, allowing people to ride horses and drive vehicles close by. When it appeared the elk was showing neurological symptoms and couldn’t pick up its head, FWP officials euthanized it and submitted samples for testing.
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