Acarology is the study of ticks and mites. During the summer, all the animal keepers become acarologists. Given the amount of time we spend outdoors we inevitably run into some of these critters. Ticks and mites are not insects but rather arachnids, the same group of animals that contains spiders. All ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts by inserting a feeding tube through a small incision in the skin. Mites have more diverse lifestyles butRead more
Posts tagged: #diseases
The threat of dog diseases on red wolves
In my previous post about red wolves, I discussed how the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been helping red wolves to reclaim former territories that were taken over by coyotes years ago. Even with the success that the USFWS has had in re-establishing red wolves in the wild, there are other factors that still threaten the population’s stability. As I mentioned in an earlier post, gunshot mortality is the biggest threat to red wolves. But another factor thatRead more