Ticks seem to be out now. My last posting showed a coyote grooming another — it looked as though ticks were being removed. Here is a coyote photo I’ve blown up — the ticks are very visible on the ears. Since we don’t have deer in the city of San Francisco, there is little risk of Lyme Disease. The ticks eventually fall off of coyotes with healthy immune systems. However, I have seen an unhealthy deer which the ticks clung to — it’s entire neck was literally covered with this blood-sucking insect.
Ticks
01 Jun 2012 2 Comments
in coyote health problems, urban coyote ailments
Coyote Yipps 
Jun 02, 2012 @ 15:56:08
I’d like correct your point about ticks and lyme disease- deer are not the carriers of lyme disease. In fact, it is rodents who carry the bacterium for lyme disease. All evidence shows that lyme disease is on the rise in urban areas due to the increase in rodents. So one more point for our coyote friends, who help keep our rodent populations down!
Jun 02, 2012 @ 16:29:17
Thank you, Jennifer, for the correction! I’ve always read that the tick which carries lyme disease had a life cycle involving deer — but now I see that deer are just the preferred host, is this correct?