Although we would like to think of our water being clean, that is not always the case. According to Wiley, from the Wildlife Society, there are bacteria that are resistant to water treatment. A study done in Australia tested the water for deer feces from the Upper Yarra Catchment. The deer feces are ending up in the water supply with Cryptosporidium and Giardia, which are parasites that can infect humans. Both Cryptosporidium and Giardia cause stomach problems and diarrhea and are both resistant to water treatments. Deer were killed during certain months and over several years in order to test whether culling would reduce the amount of fecal matter in the water. Fecal pellets were collected, tested, and compared between periods of culling and periods of non-culling. The most effective way to control fecal pellets was shooting the deer. Since the fecal matter cannot always be controlled, new water treatment techniques should be tested in order to get rid of microbes that are resistant to current water treatments.
Location of test site with forest types, Upper Yarra
Catchment, Victoria, Australia. Ami Bennett, et. al
Original Article: Bennett A, Haydon S, Stevens M, Coulson G. (2015). Culling reduces fecal pellet deposition by introduced sambar (Rusa unicolor) in a protected water catchment. Wildl Soc Wildlife Society Bulletin 39:268-275.
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