April 2024 • Nebraskaland 37
Tick Tactics
I
found a deer carcass one April day while walking around my family
prairie. I'm not a trophy hunter, but I'm pretty sure my friends who are
would have been happy to see it beneath their tree stand the previous
fall. I don't know how long the dead deer had been lying there. By the time
I found the carcass, it had been nearly completely stripped clean.
I approached the deer with my camera, hoping to find and photograph
any remaining carrion beetles or other invertebrates feeding on what
remained. What can I say? I'm a weird dude.
I did find a few beetles moving around, but not very many. While I was
photographing them, however, I noticed a dog tick perched high on an old
grass stem. Then I saw another one. And another. Once I started actively
looking for them, they were all over the vegetation near the carcass. There
were even a few on the deer itself.
Story and photos by Chris Helzer
Just because ticks aren't your favorite
creatures doesn't mean you can't admire
their life strategies.
LEFT: Deer skeleton at the Helzer family prairie near Stockham.
ABOVE: A tick perched on one of the antlers.
