CWD detected for first time in elk in Ruby Mountains

Chronic wasting disease was recently detected in an elk on the north end of the Ruby Mountains in Hunting District 322.

CWD is a contagious neurological disease that infects mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose. It's always fatal, and there is no known cure. It was first detected in Montana’s wild herds in 2017.

A hunter harvested the CWD-positive elk adjacent to the lower Ruby Valley, where CWD has been observed at high prevalence locally in both white-tailed and mule deer. While this is the first time CWD has been detected in elk in the Ruby Mountains, it was expected to eventually oc...