Winter ticks account for 41 percent of all deaths of the antlered animal popular with hunters and wildlife watchers in New Hampshire - the same percentage killed there by hunting and moose-vehicle collisions, according to a study released this week by the state's Fish and Game Department.
Nearly all of the calf deaths noted during the study, which began collaring and tracking moose in 2001, were caused by winter ticks, said Kristine Rines, the department's moose project leader.
Moose, which in New Hampshire average six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 1,000 pounds, tend to become infested with an astounding number of ticks at one time.
One animal typically can get 30,000 ticks in normal fall weather conditions, but as many as 160,000 ticks during winter in years with a late first snowfall, researchers said. Read the full report here.
Source: by Zach Howard, Conway, Mass, Reuters.
