The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has recently provided an update on the health of our local bighorn sheep herd that frequents Hemenway Park and the surrounding areas. You’ll recall we told you back in 2017 (HERE) about the pneumonia infection that was impacting this herd. NDOW staff visited, observed, and tested additional animals back in August 2024. The testing has been completed and the results are in. Unfortunately, the news is not good.
C. Douglas Nielsen, Public Affairs / Conservation Education Supervisor (NDOW) provided this information in response to our inquiry:
The River Mountain sheep herd, which includes the sheep that visit Hemenway Park, tested positive for pneumonia in 2013. It is caused by a bacterial infection known as Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae. M. Ovi, as it is called, is easily spread between animals through respiratory droplets and affects both wild and domestic sheep and goats. We do not know the exact source of the bacteria that exposed the River Mountain Herd. Bighorn sheep often wander great distances. This is especially true of males, or rams, during the rut or breeding season. A single ram could have been exposed while searching for breeding opportunities among a herd more than 100 miles from the Rivers. Or perhaps a sheep from another herd may have wandered into the River Mountains. Even a chance encounter with a domestic sheep may have been the source of infection.
The herd is monitored visually on a periodic basis. Its proximity to the urban area makes the herd easily available for such monitoring. Biologists or other NDOW staff can look for signs of illness, such as coughing or shaking of the head. They also can document lamb to ewe ratios in the spring. This gives us an idea of what is called lamb recruitment, the number of lambs surviving beyond the nursing stage. With active pneumonia, that ratio has been extremely low.
Every couple of years, biologists take blood samples along with nasal and throat swabs. These tests enable them to positively determine if pneumonia is still present in the herd and whether any additional strains of the bacteria has entered the herd.
Unfortunately, three of the 11 sheep tested in August 2024 carry a new strain of M. ovi. So, the sheep in the River Mountain herd now have an additional strain to deal with, which will make it more difficult for the sheep to overcome the illness going forward.
The current impact is that lamb survival continues to be very low, which means the population of that herd is not increasing. If that trend continues, we will see further reduction in sheep numbers. We are hoping things will take a turn the other direction, but all we can do is wait and see what happens. There is no means of providing medical treatment.
While the news isn’t great, these beautiful animals have proven themselves to be resilient in the face of challenges, whether that is the climate, diminishing range, and other factors. We hope to see the herd bounce back with vigor.
In the meantime, let’s continue to respect the animals that make our community so unique and special. That means following a few simple rules of thumb:
- Hemenway Park and other locations where wildlife like bighorn sheep are present, are not petting zoos. Please do not approach or startle the animals. We moved into their territory, not the other way around, and we must respect their habitats.
- Do not allow pets to interact with the sheep. There are plenty of signs posted down at Hemenway Park regarding this, and yet we continue to observe people bringing dogs with them into that park while the sheep are present. The is a danger to the sheep and dog.
- Do not leave food for the sheep. The sheep are well-suited to their environment when it comes to finding food. They do not need any supplementation from us. If you’re picnicking in the area near the gazebos, be sure to take your trash with you or deposit it in the trash receptacles at the park. This will help the sheep from becoming weaker and sicker.
In the meantime, if you’d like to watch the bighorns, the City launched the Ram Cam in 2023. It’s a camera trained on the grassy area of Hemenway Park where the bighorns enjoy grazing. We told you about it HERE. You can click HERE to go to the Ram Cam. Make sure to bookmark it so that you can check in on our four-legged neighbors from time-to-time!