LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The bighorn sheep that call Hemenway Park home are sick, and the herd is shrinking due to that persistent illness.
More than a decade of sickness has reduced the size of Boulder City’s herd from more than 350 to less than 200.
“Right now, we’re 13 years into this thing, and I figure we’ve got a while left to go,” said Doug Nielsen, the Public Information Officer for the Nevada Division of Wildlife.
Bacterial strains cause ongoing pneumonia
During their last checkup, veterinarians found three different strains of the bacteria that cause pneumonia in the herd. Those strains likely came to southern Nevada from far away.
“The last actual count we had or estimated count we had was about 190 sheep in that river mountain herd,” Nielsen said. “And so that number will probably continue to contract until the antibodies in the herd are built up enough to fight the pneumonia.”
The illness spreads when rams travel during breeding season.
“During the rut or the breeding season, the rams, the males, will travel easily over 100 miles each direction, looking for opportunities to breed with other ewes,” Nielsen said. “And during the course of their travels, they’ll come in contact, obviously, with other sheep, and that opens up the opportunity for exposure.”
Young sheep most vulnerable
The illness hits the herd’s youngest members hardest.
“The problem is, is when the lambs are weaned, is they don’t have the antibodies to fight the pneumonia. And so the pneumonia will kill them,” Nielsen said. “You might go to the park in early spring and see 20 sheep or 20 lambs. Then when you come back in June, you might see six.”
Medication is not an option for the wild animals.
“We, as humans, tend to view the world through our lens. We live in a world that’s protected. We’re inoculated. Our animals are vaccinated and inoculated,” Nielsen said. “And so we don’t experience these things as it might happen in the wild. You know, we tend to think of our domestic animals that we can load them up and take them down to the veterinarian’s office. And that doesn’t work.”
Visitors urged to keep distance
There is only one thing humans can do to help the bighorns at Hemenway Park.
“People that visit the park get so excited to be able to see a wild animal up close. But that doesn’t seem to be enough. Some people want to get out amongst them, mixed with them,” Nielsen said. “Really what they need to do is just find one of the benches that are found throughout the park, have a seat and relax, and watch the animals, but respect them, give them distance.”
Nielsen says visitors to the park should avoid any type of interaction with the sheep and that includes keeping dogs away from the herd. He also warns people not to feed the sheep, because that too can make them sick.
Those who’d like to check in on the sheep from the safe distance of their home should check out Boulder City’s Ram Cam.
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