Thousands of blood-sucking ticks found on bodies of Canadian moose
Canadian researchers study impact of warming winters as parasites move north
Kayla Hounsell · CBC News · Posted: Feb 06, 2020
This story is part of a CBC News series entitled In Our Backyard, which looks at the effects climate change is having in Canada, from extreme weather events to how it's reshaping our economy.
Flying over southern New Brunswick in a helicopter, it doesn't take long to spot moose running through the snow in the forest beneath. What isn't visible from the air are the thousands of ticks invading their bodies.
Researchers from the universities of New Brunswick and Laval are now studying how ticks survive in the differing climates of New Brunswick and Quebec and how that affects moose. Their data show moose populations in both provinces have been healthy and growing over the past three decades, but wildlife biologist Serge Couturier says warmer winters and less snow cover make it easier for ticks to survive.
See more at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/winter-ticks-climate-change-moose-1.5452694
One almost thinks insects don't survive the cold but apparently they can and do. (Obviously too, it's a matter of nature, even in very cold climates, they come back in the spring, that's science)
In nearby New Hampshire and Maine, over a three-year period, scientists found an alarming 70 per cent of calves didn't make it through their first winter due in large part to tick infestation, according to a study in the Canadian Journal of Zoology. In some cases up to 80,000 ticks were found on a single moose.
