"With Warmer Winters, Ticks Devastating N.H. Moose Population"

"It’s only a few weeks until the end of summer, a terrible time to be a moose in the New Hampshire wild."

"Tens of millions of winter ticks are preparing to hatch next month from eggs hidden in thick brush. They will wait there to hitch a ride on a moose and suck its blood until the end of May.

They can send a moose to its death, with up to 150,000 dining on every calf, cow and bull in certain parts of the Granite State, wildlife biologists estimate.

There was a time when eggs laid in this age-old cycle perished on winter snow. But that hasn’t happened lately in New Hampshire, where a warming trend has winters starting later and ending sooner."

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post August 9, 2013.