Calls are pouring in to the Homer office of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game about moose frequenting the Baycrest and Skyline neighborhoods that have large "tumors" all over their bodies.
The good news is that this is a benign disease with no discernible health risk to the moose.
The bad news is that these unattractive moose won't make the cover of Alaska magazine.
These moose have benign epithelial tumors, or papillomas. In common terms, they have warts.
Papillomas are fairly common in domestic and wild animals. The warts can be 1 to 6 inches wide and can be found throughout the body, head and legs of the moose. Lesions tend to regress over time and will usually disappear within a couple of years. Papillomas are caused by viruses and spread by direct contact. Humans cannot get warts from infected moose.
Another unrelated disease, called "sleigh hoof," is commonly seen in moose around the lower Kenai Peninsula. This disease results in long, curly hooves due to faulty keratinization. It is believed that the abnormal hoof growth is caused by a copper deficiency. While it looks uncomfortable and likely does not make life easy, moose with sleigh hoof survive and can live a long life.
For more information about common wildlife diseases in Alaska, go to our Web site at www.wildlife.alaska.gov and look for the link "wildlife diseases and parasites."
Thomas McDonough has been a wildlife biologist for the Division of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, for 10 years. He has served in Palmer, Fairbanks and, for the past six years, Homer.
By THOMAS McDONOUGH
State wildlife biologist