A dead young roebuck was found in the Scottish uplands covered in engorged ticks on both sides of its body.

Be careful out there.

🤢

Did it die because of the ticks?

Our did they feast upon it after it feel asleep permanently?

There was a snake one a year or two ago that looked proper gritty too. I’ll leave everyone to google for themselves

My dad bought a plot of land next to the farm which was known locally for tick infestation. On occasion we’d bring the sheep off it to find them, the lambs especially, absolutely covered in ticks. We even saw ticks on ticks! We’d dip the sheep and lambs twice a year with anti-tick solution, you’d have to bring them down twice, once for the lambs and once for the ewes as the solution had a strong aroma that masked their own smell so you had leave one of the pair with their own smell to let lambs find their mothers or vice versa

Like most blood feeders they inject an anticoagulant into their victim but with that many ticks the lambs would have “watery” blood – whereas normally blood feels sticky as the platelets begin to bind, their blood was more like undiluted Ribena.

I don’t know the answer to your q’s @ElShalimo. Pics came from the Speyside Moorland Group Fb page. Deer are hosts for ticks so the ticks could have got lucky with a weak and dying buck or it could simply have died of starvation due to over-population and a lack of grazing.

The over-population bit is relatively easy to sort – 2 main ways, but both apparently are frowned upon.

More shooting to aid reduction in numbers or introduce wolves again so there is something above them in the food chain that can take them down.

Both have pros and cons – personally, I’d prefer the wolves to shooting for various reasons. I’ve no issues with hunting if it is done for requirement rather than just pleasure though.

it could simply have died of starvation due to over-population and a lack of grazing

Plenty of fresh juicy grass in those pics.

There’s a difference between hunting and species management though. If you let a particular species become overrun and overpopulated they fight for food, or starve and greater risk of infections and diseases. Culling is important. We have people who shoot ‘roos here as otherwise they take over and they’re not a particularly small thing to hit when one leaps in front of your car on a dusky road!

Plenty of fresh juicy grass in those pics.

Lucky for you @DezB that in my library is a classic book on roe deer! Roe are a ruminant and “they’re remarkably discriminating in their choice of browse, able by smell or taste not only to select the most nutritious plants among those available, but the parts which are particularly valuable”.

It goes on to say that “up to one feeding session per hour and five to eleven sessions per day”. Mmmm, similar to some on here if Full Fat Friday is to be believed.

I think the over-population is with red deer, anyone north of the border who can answer that?

We get roe deer in our garden quite a lot and I suspect they are the reason our garden is full of ticks. I’ve pulled 4 off the cat and 1 off Mrs Donald in the last 10 days 🙁

SE Scotland

There is an abundance of ticks in the woods behind my house. Pulled 12 off my dog last time she went out. She picked one up walking along the main road the other day, it’s ridiculous.

I was walking Ben Lomond last week, and there was a young woman coming up asking everyone if they had a tick remover. It was on her side above her hip.

Checked myself v thoroughly that evening in the shower!

@donald am very envious of your garden guests!

Venison for Christmas 🙂

Recently moved to Speyside and removed about a dozen ticks from one dog this morning after our walk – it was about 20 the other day both times walking on the Speyside Way.

loads of bracken and native deer I think are big factors @dovebiker. IIRC you’re in Dufftown (at the moment) – you get to have your revenge by having best value venison butcher in Moray on your doorstep – G McIntosh. Champion black puddings too.

I think the over-population is with red deer, anyone north of the border who can answer that?

Too many of both red and roe in most of Scotland, plus sika in some areas. Roe mostly live in woodland, so less noticeable, and trickier to count how many there actually are.

In terms of predators, lynx would be better at going for roe than wolves would.