CWD Lab

The stench lingered outside the building, only to portray the nasal horror that was waiting inside. The smell is hard to describe: it's a combination of putrid fish, rotting flesh, and roadkill blended together in one horrid aroma of death. Once enough of your nasal cells and hairs disintegrate or just accept the torture, it becomes slightly bearable [to some people]. Others entered the building grumbling about the disgusting stench, holding their noses to avoid the suffering, and quickly moving towards the nearest exit. My class, on the other hand, did not experience the luxury of departure. In fact, we were responsible for further progressing the stench through the operation on old deer heads.

Every year, the state of Maine hires a group of temporary biologists to do a "special" job, consisting of a daily routine filled with cutting open harvested deer heads and removing the lymph nodes and brain stems. These are used for the testing of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) . Chronic wasting disease is a neurological disorder that causes spongy degeneration of the brain matter.CWD mainly affects the Cervidae (deer) family, and it is most commonly found mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, and elk. Affected species show serious changes in behavior and appearance. Most commonly, they are seen walking aimlessly with  lack of bodily function displaying weak, slim bodies. Though they can still consume food, the amount consumed gradually lowers causing a decrease in body mass. Chronic Wasting Disease is a huge concern for biologists in all states because it is easily transmissable. If a deer has CWD and it salivates or urinates, the disease is transmitted directly. It can survive for months in an area until another deer contracts it. If deer are all feeding in the same area and one has it, the entire herd is likely to contract it also.

Due to these factors, Maine wildlife biologists are staying on top of their current deer herd data and trying to keep the state CWD free. Currently, there are no known cases of CWD in Maine; the closest affected populations are in New York. Though the populations in New York are supposedly contained, Maine biologists still take caution with their deer populations.
Through the efforts of my wildlife techniques teacher in conjunction with Maine biologists, my class was offered the opportunity to take some of these samples for the state.

The biologist cut through the deer head as the most horrid smell filled the room. We thought we had become immuned to the stench, but apparently, more suprises were awaiting us. After some slicing, the biologist pryed apart a head filled with green gunk. "This is the first one that's ever been green," she choked as we all ran to open the nearest windows. Despite the odor, the biologist chugged on with her job. Quickly, she pulled two lymph nodes from the brain. Soon after, she did a bit more digging and used a grapefruit spoon (I had no idea there were spoons meant for grapefruits, or that they were used for brain scooping) to scoop out a white cottage-cheese like brain stem. In less than two minutes, the biologist had completed her brain work. She swiftly threw the month old rotten head in a bin, hoping that its containment would mask the smell.

I shoved my scalpel into the deer head and started cutting towards the ears. We were to follow the jaw towards the ears then split the head open. There, we would collect the lymph nodes. After obtaining them, we would cut more meat away to expose the brain stem. After some assistance from my teacher, I managed to remove one whole lymph node, and one I accidentally chopped in half. I then started slicing down to reach the area encompassing the brain stem. After some serious meat cutting, I finally got to use my cool grapefruit spoon. When we thought we were done with our heads, our teacher chimed in. We had another assignment: we were to skin the head and remove the jaw. Skinning proved to be much easier than I thought: in a few minutes, my entire jaw was skinned and removed. We aged my deer at around 3 1/2 years, due to teeth wear.

Though it was a disgusting and putrid task, removing brain matter wasn't all that bad. I was not very good at it, but it was a good learning experience.