DENVER, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Colorado officials report the first known case of a wild moose testing positive for the deadly chronic wasting disease.
CWD, as the neurological illness is known, is typically a disease of deer and elk. But wildlife officials have long wondered whether a moose would contract CWD because all three creatures are in the deer family.
Experts in the field say the solitary social habits of moose probably provide some protection from the disease.
The infected moose was taken by an archer in Jackson County, south of Cameron Pass in north-central Colorado, the Rocky Mountain News said. It was submitted for testing Sept. 12.
The only other instance of a moose contracting the disease came in captivity. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department intentionally infected a moose with CWD to determine whether it would become ill.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife required moose to be tested for CWD beginning in 2003.
