MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin had a 280% increase in Lyme disease cases during the decade ending in 2007 – and a new study shows that the traditional culprit, deer ticks, might not be to blame. Researcher Taal Levi at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem studies in New York said deer used to be considered the only wild animals that generated ticks. But now, scientists are pointing to other animals that deer come in contact with. The new study showed that coyotes can get be infected with Borrelia by coming in contact with deer. And the small animals they touch like shrews, mice, and chipmunks are blamed for infecting the majority of ticks that eventually cause Lyme disease in humans. Scientists say red foxes eat those small animals, thus reducing the incidence of Lyme. Experts said hunting habits in the northern and northeastern U-S confirmed many of the study’s findings. And those findings could result in changes in how various regions – including Wisconsin – manage their wildlife.