The province is getting ready for the fifth year of its winter tick tracking program and is asking residents to participate by recording moose sightings.
Provincial wildlife veterinarian, Helen Schwantje said the purpose of the program is to try and get a better picture of the impact ticks have on the moose population.
“The best way to determine if they have ticks is to ask people to look for hair loss and the pattern of hair loss,” she said.
“It is a rough guideline as to how many ticks are on them and how much it is affecting them.”
Schwantje said while they do not have enough data yet to determine what the effect is more and more people are participating in the survey each year.
Tick infections are observed on moose from the beginning of January to end of April, but signs do not usually start to show until the end of February.
There are between 120,000 and 200,000 moose in B.C according to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
Those wanting to participate can find an online survey, downloadable survey forms, and background information here.
(With files from Sawyer Bogdan with MyBulkeyLakesNow)