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Okanogan Bighorn Sheep

Okanogan Bighorn Sheep. California Bighorn Sheep. Ovis canadensis californiana Family Bovidae (horned ungulates, including cattle, antelopes, and goats) Males weigh up to 200 lbs; 8-12% of that is composed by the horns 7-8 years to get to full curl Females weigh up to 150 lbs.

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Okanogan Bighorn Sheep

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  1. Okanogan Bighorn Sheep

  2. California Bighorn Sheep • Oviscanadensiscaliforniana • Family Bovidae (horned ungulates, including cattle, antelopes, and goats) • Males weigh up to 200 lbs; 8-12% of that is composed by the horns • 7-8 years to get to full curl • Females weigh up to 150 lbs.

  3. California Bighorn Sheep • Adapted for steep, rugged terrain. • 2 digits of each hoof move independently • Posterior half of each hoof bears a rubbery pad for gripping. • Use habitat to escape predators.

  4. Bighorn Sheep Life History • In late fall rams start head butting to establish dominance. • Breeding occurs in late November to early December. • Lambing occurs from late April to mid-June, with a peak in late May. • Lambs are born on steep rugged habitats.

  5. Bighorn Sheep Life History • Sheep thrive in areas where grass/shrub communities are adjacent or interspersed with rugged terrain. • Sheep forage on grasses and forbs in spring, summer, and fall and shrubs in the winter. • Sheep are also social forming ewe/lamb and ram groups.

  6. Aging Bighorn Sheep • Horn Rings (annulus). • Horns in older ewes may not grow every year . Thus, rings give a minimum age. • Incisor Teeth Eruption (<4 years of age). • Tooth Cementum annuli.

  7. Bighorn Sheep Distribution O. c. californiana (Californian BHS) O. c. canadensis (Rocky Mtn BHS) O. c. auduboni (Extinct) O. c. nelsoni (Nelson) O. c. cremnobate (Peninsular) O. c. mexicana (Mexican) O. c. weemsi (Weems)

  8. Local Historic Accounts • Bighorn sheep by The Men Who Hunt Them (1890). • 1887 – 3 hunters harvested 2 rams on Chopoka Mountain; 12 rams , 3 ewes, and 1 lamb in Ashnola, BC. • Extirpated in WA by 1935 due to unregulated hunting and disease.

  9. Okanogan Bighorn Sheep Herds Vaseux Lake Mt Hull Sinlahekin Omak Lake Manson Hellsgate Reserve Chelan Butte

  10. Sinlahekin Herd 1957: 18 BHS to SWA Sinlahekin John Day, OR

  11. Sinlahekin Herd • Managed by WDFW • Managed to ensure a healthy, productive population • Also managed for recreational hunting and viewing opportunities • Currently estimated at 90-100 animals

  12. Sinlahekin Management Challenges • Limited winter range • Road kill • Domestic sheep and goats • Domestic dogs 1910 2006

  13. Sinlahekin Ecosystem Restoration Project • Forest thinning and prescribed fire increases sight distance and forage • Radio collar study

  14. Sinlahekin Research Project

  15. Psoroptic Mange • Mange is a skin disease caused by mites • Contagious with contact between animals (domestic and wild) or material with mites on them. • Affects individuals and herds differently.

  16. Mt Hull Herd Mt Hull 1970: 7 BHS to MT Hull John Day, OR

  17. Mt Hull Herd • Co-managed with the Colville Confederated Tribes • Managed to ensure a healthy, productive population • Currently estimated at 100+ animals

  18. Mt Hull Herd • Also managed for recreational hunting and viewing opportunities.

  19. Mt Hull Management Challenges • Road kill starting in 2003 • Agriculture damage

  20. Mt Hull Management Actions • Trapping and relocate • Road signs • Implemented ewe harvest (youth tag)

  21. Mt Hull Management Challenges • Domestic dogs • Domestic sheep and goats. • Fences

  22. Omak Lake Herd • Managed by the Colville Confederated Tribes. • Naturally established mid 1990s. • DNA ties them to the Sinlahekin herd. • Approx. 10-20 animals in recent years. • This February CCT augmented with 18 sheep from the Yakima area. Sinlahekin Omak Lake

  23. Hellsgate Reserve Herd Mt Hull • Managed by the Colville Confederated Tribes • New herd; established in 2009, 2010, & 2011 with Mt Hull, Tieton, & Clemans Bighorn sheep. • Currently ~130 animals • CCT habitat analysis estimates upwards of 400 sheep may be supported in this area. Hellsgate Reserve Tieton/Clemans

  24. Vaseux Lake Herd: BC • 225 animals in 2010; hope to achieve 400 animals. • Suffered a pneumonia die off in 1999-2000. • Bighorn sheep was added to the BC coat of arms in 1987 to represent the mainland.

  25. Thank you

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