Thoughts on what killed this

So I went out for an afternoon hunt and found this dead buck. I hunted there all day Friday, so it must have happened over the weekend. What's weird is that it wasn't dragged out of the woods. It isn't that far of a drag. Also, it seems like the front legs were intact, and I see the bones from the rear leg. Do you think someone boned this out? My thoughts were that someone poached it, or it was killed in a fight with another buck. I know there is a much bigger one in that vicinity. I think you can see a puncture wound near the front shoulder. Can't tell if it was an arrow. I didn't get that great of a look because I only had a couple hours to hunt before sundown. Thoughts?

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that buck is in velvet....it didn't happen this weekend or any weekend the past 2 months...my bet is EHD.

 

That buck has been dead since late Spring or very early summer.

 

Hmmm, I must of missed him. He is picked clean. What is EHD? I saw a dead doe the other day as well. Thought that someone may have shot her and didn't recover her. I should probably reach out to the DEC here if something is up

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Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. They typically get it in late spring throughout the summer. Its carried by a midge. Our area got hit hard with it a couple of years in a row about five or six years ago. Our herd is just getting back to normal. Quite often you will find the dead deer in or near water.

 

what he said ^^^

 

There's not much water, but there is a farm nearby. Maybe they have standing water in the summer. There may be a small seasonal stream as well. So is it something I should report?

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you could, but there is really not much to be done...it happens every year. some areas really get hammered and others just have pockets of it..drought is the biggest culprit.

 

2-3 months ago maybe just for informational purposes...now, not so much. It's nature taking its course. Nothing can be done past or present. But the DNR does like to track such occurrences.

 

The first case of EHD that was confirmed in NY I believe was in October 2007 in Albany and Niagara Counties and then again in Rockland County in 2011 I believe. I do not think any other reports have surfaced since those instances, but obviously I could be wrong. I highly doubt it was EHD in NY (not saying it can't be though) , but there are so many other variables that could have cause the death. Your location says Suburbia NY (not sure where in NY) and IMO I would put my money on that deer getting hit by a car this summer and wondering off to expire later on. If you are in Rockland County, I'd be more inclined to jump to a EHD conclusion though since the past outbreak in 2011.

 

I am actually down in Suffolk County. He is pretty far from the closest paved road, which has a speed limit of 55. I don't think he would have made it to where he did, but there is a dirt road very close that is used to by a farm. I don't usually see cars on it, but they do run tractors up and down there. I think DEC drives up and down it sometimes as well. I should probably go take a peek at that dead doe again and see if she was shot or not. If she isn't shot, that would be two dead deer with a few hundred yards of each other with no clear cause of death. Deer getting hit by cars is a major concern down here though. The population is growing like crazy, and car accidents are common. So many guys want to hunt bucks, but we need does killed for population management.