Of these, respiratory disease remains the biggest impediment to sustaining bighorn sheep populations. The most common include, Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), Parainfluenza 3 (PI-3), Leptospirosis, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), Bluetongue (BTV), Anaplasmosis, contagious ecthyma, or sore mouth, scabies (caused by infestations of Psorpotes mites), sinusitis (infestations of nasal bot fly larvae), epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), blue tongue (viral infection), Malignant Catarrhal fever (MCF) and pneumonia (from a bacterial complex, including, Bibersteinia trehalosi, Mannheimia haemolytica, and Mycoplasma ovipneumonia, etc.). Research under this program is designed to provide scientific information on how multiple factors may interact to bring about ecological changes in bighorn sheep populations and to provide tools for resource managers to use in adaptive management that is designed to preserve these populations.ĭisease: Bighorn sheep are susceptible to a number of diseases that are caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria. Most important are disease, predation, and changes in habitat conditions due to direct and indirect direct human activity (e.g., urbanization, recreation, and military activities). Present day sheep populations continue to be impacted by a number of factors that cause population declines.
![big horns native animal s big horns native animal s](https://cdn.britannica.com/w:400,h:300,c:crop/91/91391-050-76FE56F8/kinds-antelopes-gerenuk-gazelle-impala-eland-suni.jpg)
However, compared with estimates of pre-European numbers, population levels today remain low. Due to conservation measures, since the 1960s, total numbers increased close to 20,000. These declines were attributed to competition and diseases from domestic livestock, excessive hunting, usurpation of watering areas, and human-caused habitat changes. By the 1960s, numbers had declined to less than 10,000. In the early 1800s, estimates of bighorn sheep numbers in North America were greater than 500,000. Desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis) are charismatic ungulates that continue to provide valued experiences for wildlife enthusiasts, photographers, hunters, and native peoples.