Deer Hair Loss - Can Baldness be Bred Out?

Hair loss is an inherent characteristic among many humans and has been since the beginning of time, but hair loss in deer is another matter. Reports of deer hair loss began in the U.S state of Washington in 1996 but experts believed in could be bred out of them, and after more than a decade, it seems they were right.

According to wildlife biologist Eric Holman, the hair loss syndrome among blacktail deer in Southwest Washington appears to be waning.

"We don't monitor it formally other than in Klickitat," Holman said. "But people call and say ‘I have these couple of deer, what should I do?' Several years ago that was a very common phone call in February, March and April. But these days, it's much less so.''

The first sightings of hairless deer were seen in the lowlands of Wahkiakum and Cowlitz counties and then in 2000 reports were observed and documented in Klickitat County. In March 2009, nine percent of the deer observed in the Klickitat Wildlife Area had signs of hair loss. The deer hair-loss syndrome is apparently caused an external parasite.

"It's really beyond our ability to do anything about, to treat,'' Holman said. "If you have livestock in a pen, there are drugs that will make them purge that lice. With a wild population, it's not realistic to do that.'' But, Holman said, it's logical that the baldness problem would fade over time.

"Theoretically, the deer vulnerable to [hair loss] don't make it, and they don't get to breed. The ones who succumb to it aren't around anymore and after several generations of deer, hopefully it goes away.''

Hair loss in men and women, however, is not something that can exactly be bred out. Or perhaps it could be, but no one is that shallow to test the theory. Although it is a condition that can be prevented, treated and reversed with medical hair loss treatments and people also have the choice to do something about it; they will not be shoved into a pen and forced to take the treatment to "purge" the cause of the problem.

Some people can accept that hair loss is a fact of life and it does not pose a significant problem. For others, there are much simpler and easy ways to restore hair and prevent hair loss than selecting a partner based on their DNA.

To find out more about hair loss, call The Belgravia Centre on 020 7730 6666, or email to book an appointment with a specialist. If you can’t make it to the centre, complete and submit an online diagnostic form and a specialist will contact you shortly after with the results and recommendations.

More Information:
Male Pattern Baldness
Hair Loss in Women
Types and Causes of Hair Loss

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Environment and Lifestyle Causes for Hair Loss
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