The number of elk in the Yellowstone National Park region infected with scabies, a skin infestation caused by mites, is up this year, state wildlife officials say. Scabies produces severe itching and secondary skin infections. Affected animals often lose weight and become unthrifty. The disease can be fatal, especially when an animal's health has been weakened for other reasons, such as old age or disease.It is noted that any domestic animals have their own species of Sarcoptes mites.

Scabies also can cause animals to lose all their hair, said Jim Miller, a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden.Animals and humans all are affected by their own distinct species of mite. Each species of mite prefers one specific type of host and doesn't live long away from that preferred host. So humans may have a temporary skin reaction from contact with the animal scabies mite. But people are unlikely to develop full-blown scabies from this source, as they might from contact with the human scabies mite.

"I've seen a lot of them that look naked," he said. "Just a little fuzz on them."

The mites that cause scabies live at the base of host hairs and pierce the skin with their mouths.These mites burrow into the top skin layer to lay their eggs. The burrows sometimes appear as short, wavy, reddish, or darkened lines on the skin's surface, especially around the wrists and between the fingers. Animals with scabies can also develop a bumpy red rash.

This causes inflammation, hair loss and an "oozing matter which hardens into a scab and ultimately a dark crust," according to FWP information distributed this winter to Gardiner-area hunters. The type of scabies infecting elk is not a threat to humans.

Meat from infected elk isn't as tender as meat from healthy elk, park biologist Travis Wyman said.

"It tastes good, and it smells fine," he said. "But it's tougher than nails. It's like eating a football."

The number of cases in the region varies from year to year and is more common in old cows and in bulls debilitated by the rigor of the rut.

"This year it caught everybody's attention," said Tom Lemke, area biologist for FWP. "It has a higher percentage in the elk herd this year."

The infestation does not appear to play a role in the declining elk numbers in the park's northern herd, he said.

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