Seward, Alaska
The first I’d ever heard of native ticks in Alaska was in early June when a hiker on the Tonsina Trail shared a photo of a red-backed vole plagued with ticks. Today, I surprised a red squirrel loaded with them at Spring Creek Beach uplands.
The poor thing just crouched quietly in the grass as if paralyzed and did not move as I took a few photos and then quickly veered away before the good dog saw it. It was spooky to see a red squirrel with blood-sucking ticks, and even spookier to see a normally frisky and cheeky red squirrel that looked so defeated and immobile.
In case the dog had inadvertently picked up some unwanted hitchhikers in the tall grasses, I hope the subsequent ball retrieves in saltwater washed them off.
According to Google, this species, Ixodes angustus, ranges across the majority of Canada, the United States, and even parts of northern Mexico. It is fairly common in Alaska and is the only species of tick native here.
It is considered to rarely bite humans or domesticated animals and primarily feeds on squirrels, hares, mice, voles, and occasionally shrews and rats. Typically, it lives in cool, moist habitats including forests, particularly coniferous forests, and along the edges of rivers.
https://extension.umaine.edu/ticks/maine-ticks/ixodes-angustus/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes_angustus
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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