Known as “ghost moose,” this adult moose illustrates typical hair loss associated with high loads of winter ticks. Credit: Dan Bergeron, N.H. Fish and Game Dept.
Posted on 10/22/2018 9:01:26 AM PDT by Red Badger
As winter in New England seems to get warmer, fall lingers longer and spring comes into bloom earlier, areas like northern New Hampshire and western Maine are seeing an unusual continued increase in winter ticks which are endangering the moose population. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that the swell of infestations of this parasite, which attaches itself to moose during the fall and feeds throughout the winter, is the primary cause of an unprecedented 70 percent death rate of calves over a three-year period.
"The iconic moose is rapidly becoming the new poster child for climate change in parts of the Northeast," said Pete Pekins, professor of wildlife ecology. "Normally anything over a 50 percent death rate would concern us, but at 70 percent, we are looking at a real problem in the moose population."
In the study, published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology, researchers outline the screening of 179 radio-marked moose calves (age nine to 10 months) for physical condition and parasites in the month of January over three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. They tracked new calves for four months each winter and found that a total of 125 calves died over the three-year period. A high infestation of winter ticks was found on each calf (an average of 47,371 per moose) causing emaciation and severe metabolic imbalance from blood loss, which was the primary cause of death.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Known as “ghost moose,” this adult moose illustrates typical hair loss associated with high loads of winter ticks. Credit: Dan Bergeron, N.H. Fish and Game Dept.
47,000 ticks PER MOOSE???!!! Ee-gads!
I knew they were going to blame it on climate change.
How much Frontline would a moose need?
That’s a lot of ticks!
Mynd you, tick bites Kan be pretty nasti.
IBTPhrase
A Moose bit my sister once
We could crop dust the whole North Woods with Permethrin.
That is what I do in my yard.
are there no bird species that symbiotically eat the ticks off the moose? I guess not.
47,000??? Okay, how many square inches on a moose?
Yuck. But from what I can tell, blaming this on global warming is a bit odd. Winter ticks thrive as far north as Yukon; why would global warming be making them more common in New England, where surely winters have ALWAYS been warmer than Yukon.
Probably what my uncle used in Missouri, when I was a kid. Seed ticks....uggghh!!
I agree completely, kill the @#$#@$ ticks
Alternate universe ping.
Dang. I forgot the exact line.
Back on topic.. That’s the nasti est tick infestation ever. Poor Moose are defenseless against such an onslaught
Very scientific writing, “seems”, “lingers”,...
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