A10
OUTDOORS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Biologists monitoring sickness in bighorn sheep
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.
com
A bacterial illness has
spread through Baker
County’s biggest herd of
bighorn sheep, but a state
wildlife biologist said it
won’t be clear until later
this year how severe the
death toll is likely to be.
Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
employees continue to
monitor sheep in the Look-
out Mountain unit in east-
ern Baker County, said
Brian Ratliff, district wild-
life biologist at the agen-
cy’s Baker City offi ce.
Ratliff said he and other
biologists have seen big-
horns coughing — some-
thing the sheep rarely
do unless they’re suffer-
ing from pneumonia —
throughout the range of
the Lookout Mountain
herd.
With close to 400 sheep,
it’s the largest herd of
Rocky Mountain bighorns
in Oregon.
The state also is home
to California bighorns,
mostly in the central and
southeast parts of the
state. Baker County has
a herd of California big-
horns in the Burnt River
Canyon between Durkee
and Bridgeport.
Until this winter the
Lookout Mountain herd
had
apparently
been
healthy.
But on Feb. 13 ODFW
received a report of a dead
bighorn ram lying on the
Snake River Road near
Connor Creek, about 18
miles north of Huntington.
Ratliff
said
sam-
ples from the sheep were
tested, and a lab confi rmed
the animal had been
infected with a strain of
Mycoplasma ovipneumo-
EO Media Group fi le photo
Baker County is home to two bighorn sheep herds, the California subspecies of bighorns in the Burnt River Canyon and the
Rocky Mountain subspecies in the Lookout Mountain Unit.
“BIGHORN SHEEP ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO A LOT OF THINGS.
THEY’RE NOT THE STRONGEST SPECIES OUT THERE.”
Brian Ratliff , Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
biologist at the agency’s Baker City offi ce
niae bacteria that had not
been found before in big-
horns in Oregon.
There are more than
50 strains of that bacteria,
and they have varying lev-
els of lethality.
The
test
results
prompted ODFW to can-
cel the two bighorn hunts
scheduled this summer
and fall in the Lookout
Mountain unit.
Those hunts included
three tags — two for Ore-
gon hunters and one for a
nonresident.
Ratliff said ODFW has
confi rmed 10 to 12 big-
horns have died, the most
recent being found on
April 5. Of the carcasses
that were fresh enough
to be tested — two had
decomposed too much —
all were infected with the
same strain of bacteria.
Biologists don’t know
— indeed, they might
never confi rm — how the
herd was infected, Ratliff
said.
Two people who have
domestic sheep in the
Lookout Mountain unit
volunteered to have some
of their animals tested, but
results are pending.
Even if the domes-
tic sheep are carrying the
bacteria, that wouldn’t be
conclusive proof that the
bighorns were infected
by contact with domestic
sheep, Ratliff said.
He said ODFW will
pay to test domestic sheep,
and he encourages own-
ers to call the agency at
541-523-5832.
Ratliff said ODFW also
tested one llama, which
did not have the bacteria.
ODFW will continue
to monitor the Lookout
Mountain herd through
the summer.
The agency’s strategy
will depend on how many
sheep die, Ratliff said.
One option that has
proved successful in other
bighorn herds infected
with virulent diseases is
the “test/cull” strategy.
The goal is to test as
many bighorns as possible
and fi t them with identify-
ing collars.
Sheep that are infected
would be euthanized to
prevent them from sicken-
ing other bighorns.
Collaring the sheep
would allow biologists to
capture those animals later
and test them again. That’s
important, Ratliff said,
because some sheep are
likely to be “intermittent
shedders,” meaning they
carry the bacteria but shed
it only some of the time.
Those sheep might test
negative but then later
begin shedding and pos-
sibly infecting other big-
horns, he said.
Intermittent shedders
might also need to be
euthanized to protect the
herd.
The Lookout Moun-
tain herd was established
in the early 1990s when a
few dozen bighorns were
captured elsewhere and
released along Fox Creek.
The animals have thrived
in the steep canyons on the
breaks of the Snake River.
“It’s been the healthi-
est herd in Oregon,” Rat-
liff said.
The only previous con-
cern among Lookout
Mountain bighorns was
a minor rash of pneumo-
nia that lasted a couple of
months in 2012, he said.
Those illnesses were
caused by a virus rather
than a bacteria, but it was
a mild type that killed few
bighorns, Ratliff said.
Although the Lookout
Mountain bighorns aren’t
known to mingle with the
Burnt River Canyon herd
— the two generally are
more than a dozen miles
apart — ODFW is mon-
itoring the Burnt River
bighorns for coughing or
other signs of pneumonia.
So far the biologists
haven’t seen any such evi-
dence, Ratliff said.
Like the Rocky Moun-
tain subspecies, the Cal-
ifornia bighorns are vul-
nerable to a variety of
bacterial and viral infec-
tions that can lead to fatal
pneumonia, Ratliff said.
“Bighorn sheep are sus-
ceptible to a lot of things,”
he said. “They’re not
the strongest species out
there.”
ODFW allows non-resident
Happy
Mother’sDay fi shing and hunting
Hailie!
People who don’t live at the coast
should not travel there for clamming
or crabbing while travel ban is in eff ect
Oregon Dept. Fish and
Wildlife
I love
the memories
we are making as our
family continues to grow.
Today I celebrate you!
I love you,
Jared
GETTING
HELP FOR
PROBLEM
GAMBLING
TAKES GUTS
take the first step and
contact us
Non-residents may fi sh
and hunt in Oregon again
beginning Tuesday, May 5.
Recreational clamming
and crabbing will remain
closed to non-residents
until further notice.
ODFW is lifting the
non-resident restrictions in
line with some loosening
of restrictions on outdoor
recreation in the state and
region.
Washington state will
also reopen to most fi shing
on May 5.
Oregon and Washing-
ton will reopen salmon and
steelhead fi shing on the
Columbia River next week.
The states are holding
a Joint State Hearing this
week to set the reopener.
Due to concerns about
increased travel to the coast
during the summer months
while the COVID-19 pan-
demic continues, crabbing
and clamming will remain
closed to non-residents for
now.
Oregon residents who do
not live on the coast should
also not travel there to crab
or clam when the Stay
Home, Save Lives restric-
tions against travel are in
effect. Beach access may
also be closed.
“We want to thank
non-residents for their
understanding of the tempo-
rary closure,” said ODFW
Director Curt Melcher.
“We are also announc-
ing a special refund pol-
icy for non-residents who
purchased fi shing license
documents between April
6-15, which is about the
time when Washington
announced their extended
closure of all hunting and
fi shing.”
All hunters and anglers
are reminded to:
Check for access before
you go. Fishing is open
but the boat ramp or park
where you want to go might
be closed. ODFW does not
control access to land or
facilities it doesn’t man-
age so check with the land
manager or facility owner
where you want to go about
what’s open.
Stick close to home.
Don’t travel far to hunt or
fi sh. Most places are closed
to overnight camping/
lodging.
Be prepared. Restrooms
and other facilities may be
more limited. Bring your
own soap, water, hand san-
itizer, toilet paper, food,
etc.
Buy your license online
before you go.
Stay home if you are
sick.
Avoid crowds. Go some-
place else if your destina-
tion looks crowded.
Practice social distanc-
ing. Keep six feet between
you and anyone who
doesn’t live in your imme-
diate household.
Wash your hands often.
Keep up on personal
hygiene and bring your
own water, soap, and hand
sanitizer with you.
Pack out what you pack
in. Take any garbage with
you, including disposable
gloves and masks.
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