A Reddit user shared a photo that quickly sparked widespread revulsion. It showed his fingers holding a tick he'd just removed from his dog. At first glance, nothing unusual, until he noticed that another parasite appeared to be... inside it.
The image spread across the platform within hours. More than 40,000 people reacted to the picture, stunned by what they were seeing: two ticks... mating.
A discovery that makes internet users shudder
Comments flooded in beneath the post. "They're making babies," one user summed up. "The smaller one is the male," another confirmed. Others simply wrote: "We're doomed."
Whilst the scene shocked many, it's actually quite real. With these parasites, the male often attaches himself to a female already feeding on a host to fertilise her. Once mating is complete, the female detaches, lays several thousand eggs... then dies.
One user even shared a similar experience: "I removed two ticks from my cat last night, and both had little ones attached to them. I was horrified."
Even if this story makes you grimace, it's a reminder of the importance of checking your pet's coat regularly after a walk, especially in woodland or long grass. If bitten, it's best to remove the tick with proper tweezers and monitor your pet over the following weeks.
