Big Horn Sheep Conservation

Bighorn sheep populations in some areas are on the decline. Here is Laura Heinse with research from her post-doctoral study at WSU on western Big Horn sheep.

Laura "The problem is big horn sheep, especially young rams, like to wander and they can wander in, since they're social and jump in with flocks and share this disease of sheep pneumonia through nasal contact, so that's the big concern. Of course, not having sheep or goats near big horn sheep is the best solution, but another big idea that people are really interested in. Is having flocks that are free of this pneumonia disease. Pretty serious, if you look at Yakima Canyon and Hells Canyon, both have pretty terrible outbreaks. They can lose 70% of the herd as a rough estimate, and then the mom can continue to pass it on the lamb, so unfortunately the big horn sheep keep losing their lamb crop every few years. The biologist are having a really hard time keeping those populations sustainable in some herds. If you are a sportsman interested in supporting this, it would be neat to get everyone together through Fish and Wildlife and start bringing some resources to these land owners."

If you'd like to see these beautiful animals co-exist in the wild, do your part and contact your local fish and game department or wildlife biologist to see what you can do to help.