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Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions. This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization. Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

It seems that the only Moose population not under the triple threat of Winter tics, warming temperatures and deer transmitted brain disease are those in Colorado(not known why at this time)...........True debilitation is taking place in the Great Lakes and New England States causing THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY to petition the USFW Service to put Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Dakota Moose under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.............Meanwhile, in British Columbia, Canada, 61% of the Province' Moose are suffering from hair loss, one of the telltale signs of Winter Tic stress.............."The most noticeable effect of grooming is hair loss or breakage of guard hairs".................... "Hair loss commonly occurs on the neck, shoulders, upper mane and withers, and hind quarters"....................... "It is most noticeable from mid-March through April when adult female ticks are engorging (Addison et al. 1979, Mooring and Samuel 1999, Samuel 2004, Bergeron and Pekins 2014)".................."The extent of hair loss has been used as an indicator of tick infestation severity in individual moose, where greater amounts of hair loss suggest a higher tick burden (Samuel 1989, Pybus 1999, Samuel 2004, Franzmann and Schwartz 2007, Bergeron and Pekins 2014)"................... "Thus, by documenting the extent of hair loss it is possible to estimate tick infestation severity in moose populations on an annual basis (Bridger 2015)". ............A full 2016 Report on the state of B.C. Moose is available by clicking on the link(red highlighted) at the bottom of this article

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwijjq-QyczOAhVGQyYKHQTIDnMQFggfMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fnews%2Fcanada%2Fbritish-columbia%2Fmajority-of-b-c-moose-at-risk-from-potentially-deadly-ticks-1.3721931&usg=AFQjCNFv77Lo_TlMoZK4DBABH73k5-Wn8w&sig2=pOy6n4SN3yj_cClLSe0E6Q


Majority of B.C. moose at risk from potentially deadly ticks

Ticks cause hair loss and drain blood, making it difficult for moose to survive cold winters

By Andrew Kurjata, CBC News Posted: Aug 15, 2016 2:13 PM PT









A new study indicates nearly two-thirds of moose in British Columbia are infected with a potentially deadly tick.
Michael Bridger led the study for the provincial Ministry of Forests, Land, and Natural Resources. He said though the ticks are not always fatal, they can cause severe problems.
"Each female [tick] in the winter can take up to two millilitres of blood, so if you had, say, thousands and thousands of female ticks on a moose then they could be losing upwards of ten, twenty, thirty, forty litres of blood over the course of a month or two," he said.
"That has some pretty clear implications for [the moose's] survival."
Winter ticks
A closer look at the winter ticks affecting up to 61 per cent of the moose in British Columbia. (Serge Simoneau/Linda Brochu)
Bridger and his team recorded the rates of hair loss in moose, a trait associated with the winter ticks. From January 1 through to April 30, 2016, 61 per cent of moose observed had hair loss.
That number is up from 50 per cent in 2015, though Bridger cautions the increase does not necessarily mean more moose are infected.
He says ticks are naturally occurring, but it appears warmer weather may be affecting where and how many of them are found.
"We suspect with climate change we may be finding ticks in places that we haven't found them before, and the severity of the infestations may be increasing as well."
Most of the moose with ticks were seen in northern British Columbia. Seventy-three per cent of the moose observed in the Peace (northeast) region appeared to be infected, while the Skeena (northwest) and Omineca (Prince George) regions had infection rates of 56 and 53 per cent, respectively.





Bridger said the study is a continuation of the province's efforts to understand and manage British Columbia's declining moose population. 
"Moose are an extremely important species in B.C., to First Nations, to local hunters, to guide outfitters and so on," he said. "So it's a species we definitely want to be focusing on right now."
The full 2016 report on the provincial moose winter tick surveillance program is available on the B.C. government's website.

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Excerpts from THE 2016 REPORT ON THE PROVINCIAL MOOSE WINTER TICK SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM


During times of moderate to severe tick infestations there can be many physiological and behavioral implications towards moose including anemia, reduced visceral fat, decreased time spent feeding, reduced growth in calves, increased energy expenditures in the form of restlessness and scratching, and increased grooming resulting in damage to the winter hair coat (Samuel 1991, Samuel 2004, Franzmann and Schwartz 2007, Bergeron and Pekins 2014).

 Many animals such as bison, elk, and deer are considered "programmed" groomers; grooming on a regular basis in order to remove ticks throughout the fall and winter (Samuel 2004). 

Moose are considered to be "stimulus" groomers, spending excessive amounts of time biting, licking, rubbing, and scratching (Samuel 1991) only when infested with ticks in late-winter and early-spring, during the critical months of nutritional and energetic stress on moose (Samuel 2004, Franzmann and Schwartz 2007). 

Calves appear to be most susceptible to stresses endured during this time due to their high energy demands and the effects of anemia (Addison et al. 1994). High levels of blood loss can severely affect nutrition and growth, particularly during the winter months when the availability of proteins is limited (Addison et al. 1994, Samuel 2004).

The most noticeable effect of grooming is hair loss or breakage of guard hairs. Hair loss commonly occurs on the neck, shoulders, upper mane and withers, and hind quarters. It is most noticeable from mid-March through April when adult female ticks are engorging (Addison et al. 1979, Mooring and Samuel 1999, Samuel 2004, Bergeron and Pekins 2014).

 The extent of hair loss has been used as an indicator of tick infestation severity in individual moose, where greater amounts of hair loss suggest a higher tick burden (Samuel 1989, Pybus 1999, Samuel 2004, Franzmann and Schwartz 2007, Bergeron and Pekins 2014). Thus, by documenting the extent of hair loss it is possible to estimate tick infestation severity in moose populations on an annual basis (Bridger 2015). 
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Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for Moose in Midwest
Climate Change Driving Dramatic Declines in Moose Across Minnesota,
North Dakota, Michigan — Nearly 60 Percent Drop in Minnesota




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