The Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program is back for another year in B.C.
Residents in Northern B.C. are being asked participate in an online survey on the issue until April 30th.
It will help BC wildlife staff monitor and gauge the impact of the problem across the province.
Regional Wildlife Biologist, Mike Bridger says the ticks cause hair loss can completely remove the coat of the animal, resulting in a ‘ghost moose’. He says infestations can exceed 100,000 ticks per animal, resulting in severe blood loss.
Bridger adds winter ticks can have a negative impact on the moose population. “They can reduce the survival of individual moose over the course of the winter, so it’s an important management issue for us.”
Based on last year’s results, some areas in Prince George rated high for tick infestation. “We saw the largest infestation rates in the Omineca, Peace, and Skeena regions.”
Just under 400 people responded to the survey last year.
Winter Tick infestations are usually observed from February to April.
The survey can be found here.
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