Keep an eye out for scruffy moose!

With the summer weather here for good (hopefully) many people will take to nature to explore, recreate, and relax.

Too often people will encounter some of North Idaho’s expansive wildlife, including Moose.

Each year it seems like people report encounters with the giant mammals and even more frequently they are reporting moose with no fur or “white” or “zombie” Moose.

This appearance of light color or being hairless is usually due to a large infestation of ‘Moose Ticks’ or ‘Winter Ticks’ and while these ticks do not commonly carry any disease, they can cause harm to the animals in several ways.

The most common issue is the loss of fur a moose will cause itself as it tries to remove the tick by rubbing against trees, posts, or anything that can relieve the itching.

This can lead to a significant loss in body heat, which can be deadly in the winter months, but not the spring.

The other, more deadly way that these tick’s impose their awful will is by draining mass amounts of their host’s blood.

This is contingent on how many ticks the animal is carrying and the size of the animal itself, and a younger, smaller moose would be a prime candidate for the tick-imposed anemia.

And a combination of all these factors can prove to be too much to overcome.

“Things like body condition, fat reserve, and how anemic the animal is will help us determine how much damage has been done,” said IDFG Panhandle Region Wildlife Manager Wayne Wakkinen. “The physiological stress from blood loss coupled with the loss of fur and then lacking the blood to help generate the necessary energy to provide warmth can make these animals get kinda goofy, especially around humans.”

Should anyone see one of these animals they should report it to Idaho Fish and Game at their Panhandle Regional Office at (208) 769-1414.