[ad_1]
The common belief that wild eastern turkeys are the source of the spread of ticks and Lyme disease in Maine is being revisited. A recent article from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) cites research that clears turkeys of all blame.
Ticks and the spread of Lyme disease have been a growing concern in the northeast since the 1970s. In Maine, researchers and land managers are directing this concern to the state’s moose population. Evidence shows that due to warmer winters moose are infested with thousands of ticks and as a result the calves die. According to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 70 percent of moose calves in west-central Maine and northern New Hampshire died from wasting due to a winter tick infestation. On average, each animal harbored 47,371 ticks.
A dramatic increase in the wild turkey population has long been cited as the root cause of the spread of ticks throughout Maine. But while turkeys carry ticks, it’s not at the level previously thought. A recent study shows that turkeys get rid of as many ticks as they carry them. The reason? Turkeys eat ticks. To understand this, the researchers released ticks in areas with a known turkey population and found that the ticks had been discovered and eaten during a regular turkey self-cleaning routine, creating zero net impact. on the environment.
According to the MDIFW, the high populations of turkeys and deer (as well as almost all other mammals) in southern Maine are likely to carry higher numbers of ticks. But in northern Maine, wild turkey populations are low, leading scientists to believe that unusually warm winters are the root cause of winter tick infestations in moose.
[ad_2]
picture credit