Wild Bighorn sheep near a B.C. border town are dying of a disease that's rare in Canada, say conservationists
A disease caused by the Bluetongue virus is ravaging the wild Bighorn sheep population near a border town in B.C.’s Interior.
According to the Wild Sheep Society of BC, at least 20 Bighorns have been found dead in an area just east of Grand Forks.
Society director Peter Gutsche said the heartbreaking discovery was made about a week and a half ago, after specialists received a notification from GPS tags on some of the sheep that showed they hadn’t moved in many hours.
“We funded the purchase of GPS collars to track Bighorns in that area to assess the herd and the habitat that they live in,” he said.
When the sheep don’t move for more than eight hours, it sets off a “mortality signal.” In this instance, the locals who help track the sheep received numerous mortality signals in a short period.
“They raced down there when they had a number of at least three or four mortality signals go off within a couple hours of each other,” Gutsche said.
Bluetongue is a virus with no specific treatment, and it’s spread by small flies and midges.
Photos from out in the field show the grey, Bighorn sheep lying dead in rocky areas, sometimes on top of each other. Some were found dead next to a fence that had been erected to keep the local sheep population off of the highway.
Lab results found they’d been infected by the Bluetongue virus, which causes high fever and a swelling of the lips of tongues.
The exact number of sheep who’ve died from the disease is not yet known, Gutsche said. Twelve sheep in a population of about 250 are collared with GPS tags. Nine of those 12 sheep have been found dead.
“If we transfer that over to the population of 250, we're looking at potentially a loss of 200 of those animals or so,” Gutsche said. “It could be devastating.”
The hot summer has resulted in a higher population of midges, the insects that spread the virus from one animal to the next.
“The circumstances of the climate this summer, what we've seen here in B.C. … it's caused this to happen, they're seeing similar things with White-tailed deer down in Washington state as well.”
Gutsche said that although the virus commonly circulates among sheep in the U.S., it’s rare in Canada. However, in the past couple of decades, it’s been hitting sheep populations farther north.
”It's found in Australia and Asia and throughout North America – it's not uncommon by any stretch – but up in B.C., it's not something we see.”
For the Bluetongue virus to stop spreading among the Bighorn, we’ll need cold weather, he said.
“At this point all we can really do is wait for a frost. When temperature hits zero those midges that are transferring the disease, they all die. And at that point, the disease – the disease event – is over.”
Anyone in the area who sees the dead animals is asked to leave them alone and warned that the dead carcasses may attract predators to the area.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Angela Jung
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.