From www.kelownadailycourier.ca

Local
Wildlife officials try to spare sheep from worse fate

By Don Plant

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wild bighorn sheep are mingling with their domesticated kin in Kelowna, and wildlife experts want to shoot them for their own good.
A splinter group of six or seven bighorns abandoned their herd in Okanagan Mountain Park earlier this month and trotted into the south end of the city, disrupting traffic on Gordon Drive and agitating dogs in the area.
Wildlife officials didn‘t get worried until at least five migrant bighorns hopped a fence into a 120-acre farm at the end of Turner Road off Gordon Drive. Alex Rezansoff keeps 100 domesticated sheep there, and the three ewes and two yearlings started rubbing shoulders with them.
"This time of year, wild ewes are looking for rugged country to have their new lambs. These ewes were likely pregnant. It‘s very unusual behaviour for them to come into town," said Brian Harris, regional wildlife biologist in Penticton.
Harris said he believes coyotes or cougars chased the animals away from their herd, and the sheep wandered 20 kilometres into the city.
They may have sought refuge from dogs and vehicles by joining their genetic cousins in a paddock.
Mating season is in the spring, so it‘s unlikely the bighorns were looking for love.
They can mate with domesticated sheep, but don‘t procreate.
The problem is that domesticated sheep carry a strain of bacteria. If bighorns rub noses with them, the sheep can transfer the pasteurella and make the wild animals sick. The bighorns can contract pneumonia, which usually kills them, and easily spread the bacteria once they rejoin their herd.
"When wild sheep and domestic sheep mingle, there‘s a risk of disease transfer," said Harris. "We have to assume it happened. We‘ve chosen not to take the risk."
The Ministry of Environment hired a helicopter to search for the refugees on May 18. When biologists flew over the farm, the bighorns had gone. Harris said the animals spent about three days there.
The biologists asked neighbours to report any new sightings.
Sure enough, someone reported Saturday a ewe and a ram were back in the same paddock. A conservation officer drove to the farm and shot the ewe dead. The ram escaped. Now officials are asking people to call the ministry‘s hotline (1-877-952-7277) when they see the bighorns again.
"If we find out where they are soon enough, we can chase them away before they make contact with the domestic sheep. If we can figure out a regular pathway into town, we could use a dog or some deterrent to discourage them," Harris said.
Pneumonia decimated a bighorn herd in the South Okanagan in 1999. It has since recovered to about 400.
With a transplanted population in Okanagan Mountain Park that now numbers 70 or more, biologists are taking no chances.
"We know how bad it can be if we don‘t . . . take strong action," Harris said. "It‘s important to get on it soon so we don‘t risk the entire population being wiped out by disease."

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local.php?id=267684

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#2 Wild sheep get too close to domestic animals

Wild sheep get too close to domestic animals
By Steve Arstad - Keremeos Review
Published: June 15, 2010 7:00 PM
On June 10, Ministry of Environment Conservation Officers received a call on the RAPP line from a farmer in the Keremeos area, informing them that two wild bighorn sheep had gotten into his herd of domestic sheep.

The conservation officers responded to the call, attending the farm, where the two wild sheep were shot.

“Wild sheep are extremely vulnerable to bacteria carried by domestic sheep,” explained Brian Harris, Wildlife Biologist for the MOE.

“Once the bacteria is introduced to one bighorn, it can decimate the wild herd. We review each situation and may euthanize any wild sheep that comes in contact with domestic animals.”

Harris noted that a similar instance occurred to the Vaseaux Lake herd in 1999. The resulting epidemic of disease wiped out 60 per cent of that herd.

Harris noted that populations of wild sheep in the Okanagan region are on the rise. It also appears that domestic sheep operations are increasing too, possibly due to the fact that many small agricultural operations, struggling to maintain farm status, are turning to sheep raising to increase the value of their farm production.

“The agriculturalist is not the villain in this,” Harris noted. “However, it is important for those involved in sheep farming to be aware of the risks to wild sheep and ensure the security of their operations.”

The Similkameen herd of wild sheep, currently estimated at 450 head, is mainly centred around the Ashnola valley. Wild sheep are more likely to demonstrate an affinity for domestic sheep during breeding season in the fall, which makes last Thursday’s contact unusual.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/keremeosreview/news/96419914.html

This herd of wild sheep, part of the Vaseaux Lake population, was decimated in 1999 after bacteria from domestic sheep was transferred to the herd. Ministry of Environment officials are taking steps to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
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