SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s first cases of elk hoof disease have been discovered in two animals in a herd of Roosevelt elk that live in Del Norte County.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife says the painful and potentially crippling disease causes deformed and overgrown hooves. Elk with severe cases may be unable to graze, fight off other infections or escape predators.
The disease was first discovered in elk here in Washington state in the 1990s and has since been documented in Oregon and Idaho.
The department says there’s no evidence it affects humans, but hunters should practice safe hygiene while processing meat.