Oh No! Evanston Residents Worry About Big Betty, Their Moose Friendly Neighbor

What happened to Big Betty? Evanston residents are concerned that their area’s moose are looking worse for wear this spring.

Big Betty is a moose known to many who live in this southwestern Wyoming town. They often find it resting in their yard, sometimes with a calf next to it.

When Shasta Sharp saw Big Betty in her yard Wednesday morning, she was startled by the deer’s appearance. A large section of hair was missing from her right side, exposing raw, pink skin which looks like some kind of accident.

“He’s been visiting us for three years,” Sharp said. “When I looked at him from my home office (on Wednesday), he was struggling to lie down.

Big Betty hung around Sharp’s yard until 4pm, when she wandered off to the comfort and safety of someone else’s yard.

When Sharp shared pictures of Big Betty in her current state, many Evanston residents were shocked. Others called to see him in that condition “is heartbreaking.”

“He’s our friendly neighborhood deer,” Sharp said. “We all love him very much.”

House Call

Concerned about Big Betty’s condition, Sharp called the Evanston office of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. One of their workers came to Sharp’s house to give the deer a safe place.

He said: “We got as close as comfort allowed us and watched him for a while. We could see that his legs were not broken, so there was nothing to worry about him being hit by a car.”

Beyond that, there was nothing they could do.

Sharp was told to keep an eye on Big Betty and to call the Evanston office again if her condition worsened.

He said: “I was told that it is painful to watch, but for now, they will leave him alone.”

Moose MD

James Hobbs, Wyoming Game and Wildlife manager for the Green River area, confirmed that someone from his office went out to check on moose health in Evanston.

According to the field report, he thinks the deer looks worse than it feels.

“From what I was told, the deer seemed to be in good shape,” he said. “It was eating and moving well with no broken legs or anything like that.”

Hobbs had no explanation for the missing moose hair. At this time of year, it can be for many reasons.

“There is a possibility that he was cut by a car, but it could have been caused by friction,” he said. “When the temperature starts to warm, they’re rubbing against all kinds of things, whether it’s plants or buildings or whatever it might be, and sometimes they’re pulling hair.”

Hobbs also noted that Wednesday was a wet, cold day in Evanston. Maybe that made the exposed pink skin swatch look worse than it actually was.

“When the hair is wet, it makes the hair dark,” he said. “That makes the pink color of the skin stand out more, especially with a deer near the home town.”

After seeing Sharp’s photos and hearing her peer review, Hobbs said there was “nothing to worry about” about Big Betty’s health.

He said: “Just like people, animals suffer from various kinds of suffering. “The deer did not appear to be sick or seriously injured. It was hard to tell if it was dangerous, because (the skin) was more visible because it was raining.”

Moose Diseases

A fully grown deer has few natural predators.

Adults can even survive the effects of the car, although trying to ride is crime.

Another problem that kills deer is tick infestation. There have been cases reported in the eastern United States of moose being found to have 50,000 to 100,000 ticks on their bodies.

Wyoming insects are not immune to tick attacks. In fact, they seem to be too easy on them, which can lead to blood loss, weight loss and general health problems.

Ticks can easily be a death sentence, directly or indirectly, for any deer.

Does Big Betty endure death 10,000 times?

Hobbs admitted that Big Betty may have lost her hair while trying to get rid of the ticks, but there was no indication that she was fighting an infection.

He said: “Our guy got really close with the binoculars, and he couldn’t see the ticks at the time. They have a heavy load of ticks, they’re really visible, but he couldn’t see any evidence of that.

Overall, Hobbs has a positive outlook for Big Betty. He might not have looked his best at the time, but he didn’t seem outwardly sick or injured.

“If they look like that, they’re moving and they’re feeding well, we let them continue to do what they love to do, which is living,” he said. I don’t think there was any concern about it.

Despite the encouragement, Sharp and many others are keeping an eye out for their deer, knowing there’s nothing they can do if Big Betty gets worse.

“She’s an old woman,” said Sharp. Hopefully the wound will heal and his body will start to heal soon.

Andrew Rossi can be achieved at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.