Given their massive size and cantankerous attitudes, Wyoming’s moose might seem practically indestructible, but if enough ticks pile onto the large animal, they can kill it.
It’s a miserable way to go through blood drainage, horrific skin irritation and the loss of huge patches of hair as moose can be infested with ticks by the tens of thousands.
There have been documented cases in Eastern states of a single moose overwhelmed by nearly 50,000 ticks. And even some extreme cases of about 100,000 ticks on a hapless moose, said Samantha Allen, the state wildlife veterinarian with Wyoming Game and Fish.
It can “be a challenge to fully quantify” the number of ticks on any particular moose, she told Cowboy State Daily.
Already this spring, there have been images and stories circulating on social media of moose missing huge patches of hair and otherwise looking completely miserable. Observers say ticks are to blame.
Poor Moose Hygiene To Blame?
Ticks lurk alongside game trails and hiking trails and will latch on to any warm-blooded creature, including humans.
Wyoming entomologists have since March been warning outdoor recreationalists to be on the lookout for ticks.
Ticks carry pathogens that can cause serious diseases in humans, sometimes leading to years of misery.
For moose, tick-borne diseases aren’t the main threat. Rather, it’s the sheer number of nasty little blood-suckers latching on to a moose’s hide that can cause prolonged suffering, or even death.
“The tick infestation is the problem (for moose),” Allen said.
While other ungulates, such as deer and elk, are certainly susceptible to ticks, it isn’t quite clear why moose in particular get hammered so hard.
It could be because moose are, relatively speaking, the slobs of the deer family of wildlife species.
“There are a few thoughts, but the primary one is they don't groom as effectively as other ungulate species,” Allen said.
Ticks may be tiny, but tens of thousands of them at a time can be big trouble for Wyoming moose. The blood-sucking parasites can even mean a miserable death for moose. (Dan Bergeron, New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife) 
A desne patch of ticks on a moose. (D. Ellingwood, New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife)
‘That’s A Death Sentence’
Even moose that survive the initial onslaught by tens of thousands of ticks during the summer and early fall aren’t out of the proverbial woods.
The loss of blood, hair, weight and overall vitality caused by ticks can lessen a moose’s chance of surviving the winter, Allen said.
Wyoming wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven has, for years, followed the moose population in and around Grand Teton National Park.
He agreed that ticks can put moose in a wretched state and even threaten their very lives.
“I have seen that (massive tick infestations) on some Teton moose,” he said.
“The ticks cause hair loss and I've seen moose in poor shape missing large patches of fur. In winter, that's a death sentence,” Vangoidtsenhoven added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
