Yellowstone News and Information

Zombie Deer Disease a 'Slow Moving Disaster' for Humans, Scientists Warn

  NEWS RELEASE Mule deer tests positive for chronic wasting disease in Yellowstone National Park Mule deer buck NPS / Neal Herbert   |  News Release Date:  November 14, 2023 Contact:   Morgan Warthin , 307-344-2015 MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) recently confirmed the presence of  chronic wasting disease  (CWD) in the carcass of an adult mule deer buck found near Yellowstone Lake in the southeastern section of the park. This is the first confirmed positive detection of the disease in Yellowstone National Park. The  mule deer  buck was originally captured by WGFD staff near Cody, Wyoming, in March 2023 as part of a population dynamics study and fitted with a GPS collar. The collar signaled the animal died mid-October 2023. In coordination with Yellowstone staff, WGFD located the carcass on the Promontory, a landmass that separates the South and Southeast arms of Yellowst...

  Elk reduction program begins Saturday, November 5 MOOSE, WY — An elk reduction program begins Saturday, November 5, in Grand Teton National Park. The park’s enabling legislation of 1950 authorizes Grand Teton National Park to jointly administer an elk reduction program with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department when necessary for the proper management and conservation of the Jackson Elk Herd.   Respective federal and state resource managers have reviewed available data and concluded that the 2022 program is necessary. The need for the program is determined annually and is based on the status of the Jackson Elk Herd, including estimated herd size and composition and the number of elk on supplemental feed on the National Elk Refuge. A total of 475 permits are authorized for the 2022 program. The only area open to the elk reduction program is Wyoming Game and Fish Elk Hunt Area 75, located mostly east of U.S. Highway 89. The Antelope Flats portion of this area closes N...