California Bighorn Sheep in the Grand Forks region have taken a massive hit to their population over the last 10 days, according to local residents.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a cataclysmic die-off. It’s the Bluetongue disease and we’ve lost one hell of a lot of the sheep,” said Barry Brandow Sr., a hunting guide in Grand Forks.
“Once we realized the extent of the die off, it was a lightning bolt to the guts.”
Bear and Barry Brandow Sr., who are hunting tour guides in the area, said they’ve been finding dead bighorn sheep littered around the hills of Grand Forks.
They’ve been working closely with biologists, who have told them the extremely hot summer has caused the Bluetongue disease to wreak havoc on the bighorn sheep population.
“It’s extremely emotional,” said Bear Brandow.
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“These sheep have been my whole life pretty much. I was 11-years-old when we did the first transplant and all the hard work.”
Bluetongue is an infectious, non-contagious, vector-borne viral disease that affects wild and domestic ruminants that is transmitted by insects, particularly biting midges.
In highly-susceptible sheep, morbidity can be as high as 100 per cent, Mortality averages from 2-30 per cent but can be as high as 70 per cent, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Despite the Bluetongue disease reportedly killing most of the area’s bighorn sheep herd, the government did not shut down the hunting season for the bighorn sheep.
What’s known as a once in a lifetime-type hunt, only a few tags go to the public every year.
On Thursday, Global News talked to a hunter who confirmed there were two other hunters hunting for bighorn sheep in the backcountry of Grand Forks.
“We have to manage the wildlife. Wildlife is kind of disappearing all over the province, and this was one of the few herds that was doing extremely well, and within 10 days it’s virtually gone,” said Bear.
The hunting guides are asking the government for another transplant of bighorn sheep for the area as they depend on out-of-town hunters for their livelihood.
The father and son duo did cancel their hunts this year due to the massive loss to the population.
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