Dozens of Bighorn #sheep found dead in #California, #USA and experts aren’t sure why.

At least 20 desert bighorn sheep have died in a San Gorgonio mountain population in Southern California, 100 miles east of Los Angeles. The cause of death? Pneumonia, most likely from domestic sheep or goats, though wildlife specialists are examining other possible causes, including pathogens from feral cattle to the west and disease from a different bighorn group to the south.

“Since the beginning of December, I have recovered 20 dead sheep, and I suspect that’s just a portion of what’s occurring,” said Jeffrey Villepique, a wildlife biologist with the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife inland deserts region who is leading the probe into the deaths.

A known herd of about 200 of the sheep has long lived and grazed in the area, from Mission Creek and Whitewater Canyon up miles of rugged slope to the peak of Mt. San Gorgonio. Villepique and a fellow biologist have been hiking across the hills for the past several weeks, and have seen less than a third of the numbers of live sheep they would expect.

“All it takes is this disease introduction event to potentially wreak havoc on healthy populations,” he said. Notably, all ages are dying, from large rams to lambs. Groups of dead sheep have been found together – while shy of humans and wary of predators, bighorns are extremely gregarious with each other, rubbing noses and foraging on the same grasses. That means the disease can spread rapidly.

“It’s really tragic,” said Jack Thompson, regional director for The Wildlands Conservancy, a nonprofit that manages Whitewater Preserve, near where many of the dead sheep have been found. “The bighorn sheep are such an iconic species for the California desert.”

Thompson said the chance to see “a really amazing animal” is part of what draws visitors to the area. “They have an encounter with it,” he said.” So seeing them die, personally, is really, really sad.”

Courtesy of eu.desertsun.com

http://tinyurl.com/y4oyrc67