A bacteria that often signals a pneumonia outbreak in bighorn sheep was found in 10 of the 14 bighorn sheep tested, says an article in the Jackson Hole News and Guide. The sheep were tested, the article says, because of a high mortality rate in bighorn sheep in the region. Scientists couldn’t test the dead sheep, the article notes.
The Jackson Hole bighorn sheep herd was struck by pneumonia in 2002, the article says, and dropped to just half its number.
There are lots of details in the Jackson Hole News and Guide article, here.
Just to the east, in Dubois, Wyoming, the news for bighorn sheep is better. According to County 10, Greg Anderson, wildlife biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department reported that the local bighorn herd’s numbers are stable and there was good lamb survival this year. The report was part of an annual meeting at the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretative Center.
Photo: Bighorn in Montana. by Ryan Hagerty, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service