BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 19, 2024
Winter ticks that plague juvenile moose are at one of the lowest levels researchers have seen in 11 years. It’s the second year in a row that the tick counts on moose have been relatively low. Animals with a high tick load can lose from 25-30 percent of their body weight during the winter months, because they spend their time scratching, trying to get rid of the biting beasts. The moose use energy rather than conserve it in the cold months, jeopardizing their overall health. Lee Kantar, Maine’s moose biologist, expects the moose population to increase, though the higher population of moose means more winter ticks. In 2023, 3,555 regular season permittees killed 2,279 moose. Adding in the adaptive hunt, the totals were 4,105 permittees who killed 2,440 moose, making the success 59 percent overall.