Sick Bighorn

David Sparks Ph.D.

 Idaho Fish and Game wildlife managers are looking for a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ram that they say has contracted pneumonia. Fish and Game experts are worried that could be a life and death outcome for other wild sheep in the Salmon River canyon and they are racing against time.

Wildlife managers are intent on eliminating the ram from the herd in order to prevent the spread of pneumonia to the approximately 100 other bighorns that have their habitat in the Salmon River canyon. Apparently this is not an easy task. The affected ram has outrun them for more than a week and is now mixing with other rams. It’s reported to be lethargic, coughing, sneezing and discharging mucus from its nostrils. These are classic symptoms of the pulmonary disease that has been seen in wild herds throughout the West. Most wildlife researchers believe it is contracted by wild sheep after coming into contact with their domestic cousins.

 Dr. Bill Barton, Administrator and State Veterinarian from Idaho says that assumption is not always correct. “There’s lots of things that can cause pneumonia type symptoms or respiratory disease other than the pasteurella organism which is the one that we’re getting so much talk about right now. Real hard to say when the animal was exposed and infected. There’s a lot of research that needs to be done on the respiratory diseases in wildlife  and the transmission issues with domestic livestock.”