Caught from a flea on the beast - not the beast itself.
I know a fellow in my town who contracted the plague while helping some hunters with their antelope (he was their guide). This was 20 years ago or so and he is just fine -————— but ONLY because his doctor played a hunch he had and treated him immediately.
This in in Montana just north of Jellystone Park.
The plague has been with us for a while.