DALTON GARDENS - The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said Tuesday that organ samples from a dead deer in Dalton Gardens suggest it died of disease, not from poison.

The preliminary diagnosis from a Georgia lab is either epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) or a lung tumor, said Phil Cooper, a spokesman for Fish and Game.

Organ samples were taken from the doe after multiple deer showed up dead, all with no outward signs of trauma.

"(Scientists) first rule out other potential causes of death, then settle on a final diagnosis," Cooper said. "They still have not settled on a final diagnosis."

In general, Cooper said, EHD occasionally shows up this time of year.

"It is carried by a midge (insect)," he said.

In 2005, there was a big outbreak in the Clearwater River region of Idaho and many deer died.

"It hasn't been seen in the Panhandle on a large scale," he said.

In addition to dead deer in Dalton Gardens, Cooper said there have been reports of a few additional dead deer with no apparent injuries in Cougar Gulch and other parts of the Panhandle this fall.

"There are likely occasional small outbreaks of EHD that go undetected," he said. "The fact that it is suspected as a possible cause of death in this instance is not reason to believe there will be a large outbreak at this time."

More tests are to be done, he said.

Fish and Game also picked up a dead buck found in Dalton Gardens on Monday. It has been placed in Fish and Game's freezer, Cooper said. Organ samples from the buck could be shipped to a lab for testing, he added.