TICKS TAKING A BITE OUT OF MOOSE POPULATION

The B.C. Wildlife Health Program is calling on the public to help track the spread of winter ticks threatening the region’s declining moose population.

Tick infestations can contribute to moose population declines, especially where climate change and habitat conditions promote large numbers of ticks, a statement by the provincial government program says.

“As the female ticks mature, they feed on the blood of the moose in late winter. The irritation causes moose to scratch and groom themselves excessively, resulting in hair loss and less time spent foraging or resting, which can lead to weight loss,” the statement said. “The extent of hair loss on a moose can be observed easily from a distance and is a rough indicator of how many ticks are present. There can be tens of thousands of ticks on one moose.”

The province’s annual moose winter tick surveillance program relies on wildlife professionals and members of the public reporting observations of moose in the wild from January to April.

According to a provincial report from 2019, 42 per cent of moose observed in B.C. last winter showed some sign of hair loss due to tick infestation, up from 33 per cent in 2018. Ninety-eight per cent of the 512 moose sightings reported came from the Omineca, Cariboo, Skeena and Peace regions – including 232 from the

Omineca region, which includes Prince George.

During the peak of the tick infestation in March to April, 84 per cent of the moose seen in the Omineca region showed signs of hair loss.

In total, 105 moose sighted in the surrounding area from January to April, 2019 showed no sign of hair loss, 38 had slight loss, 43 showed moderate hair loss, 37 had severe hair loss and nine “ghost moose” having near-total hair loss were reported.

“Northward range expansion of the winter tick is a serious concern for moose populations and other host species,” the 2019 report says. “Studies have show that winter tick can survive in regions of the Yukon and Alaska where originally, they were thought to be unable to survive due to long winters and very low temperatures. Warming climatic conditions are creating opportunities for tick survival in previously unsuitable habitat and establishment of winter tick populations in the more northern latitudes.”

The survey began in 2015, as part of a provincial investigation into declining moose populations. A 2014 study found moose populations declining in the Omineca, Cariboo and Kootenay/Boundary regions of the province, the report said.

“The summation of both winter hardships and high numbers of winter ticks can be a fatal combination for moose,” the report said.