Moose Selfie

 

 A curious moose photographed in April in northern N.H. While the moose is one of the largest animals in the woods, it's fate often is determined by one of the smallest, the winter tick. Yearling moose in particular face extreme pressure and mortality from winter ticks. Moose are not as effective at grooming as deer and often rub the hair off the chest and shoulder areas where they cannot reach. Excessive rubbing and grooming exposes white broken hair shafts which why many also call them "ghost moose". This particular moose was looking pretty good after a long winter.

Moose and Calf

A couple moose calf pictures from the spring in northern N.H. The first was shot through the mothers legs, the others are self explanatory. Moose in N.H. have declined significantly due largely to winter ticks, and this has resulted in significantly lower moose hunting permits (and thus less revenue). A single moose can easily have > 50,000 ticks which remain on the moose for months to complete their life cycle. Moose in particular are victims of the tick because they cannot reach or groom as well as white-tail deer. It is common to see hair loss or bald spots of moose from scratching, which gives the moose the local nick name "ghost". Moose calfs are the most susceptible to the winter ticks because high densities of ticks literally suck more blood from a calf then it can produce in the spring (April is known as the month of death for moose). Mortality of N.H. moose calfs can be over 70% in bad years while adult mortality rates can be as high as 20%. Luckily this calf looks in good shape, but the true test of survival will be this april.

Sources:
http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/winter_tick.htm
http://www.georgesmithmaine.com/articles/georges-outdoor-news/february/2012/more-moose-fewer-lottery-applicants