Chance of precipitation:


Sunday, January 19 News

Bighorn sheep are mysteriously dying off in the California desert

At least 20 bighorn sheep in the Southern California desert have died in what the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is calling a "significant mortality event." Exactly what's killing the animals remains a mystery to scientists.

The herd of roughly 200 sheep roam the San Gorgonio Wilderness, which straddles the border of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, near Whitewater, Calif. Twenty of them have been confirmed dead in recent weeks, though the CDFW suspects the total number may be much higher. Biologists have been surveying the area where the sheep are usually grazing and have only found about a third of the normal population size, reports the Desert Sun.

The die-off appears to be associated with a respiratory disease, according to the department. What's puzzling the department is how the animals contracted the disease in the first place, and if there's a way to stop it from spreading out of control.

ALSO: 'Aggressive,' 'toe-pinching' insects hunt animals 50 times their size in SoCal

"Our top priority right now is to determine the source and nature of the disease so that we can identify the right management actions to mitigate future risk," said Heidi Calvert, a CDFW environmental program manager, in a press release.

The first sign something was wrong came in November, reports the Desert Sun. That's when rangers saw one of the bighorn sheep walking strangely and "acting loopy."

"It was confused and should have been more disturbed by the presence of people. That was the first time we saw one that we said, 'There's obviously something going on here. This is a sick animal,'" Jack Thompson, regional director for the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy, told the Palm Springs newspaper.

While the CDFW is still collecting and analyzing samples and surveying the bighorn sheep population, the leading theory for what's behind the mass sickening is domestic animals. Respiratory illness in bighorn sheep can often be traced back to contact with domestic sheep or sometimes goats. The CDFW is aware of one herd of domestic goats whose owner lets them graze on public lands in the area, according to the Desert Sun.

ALSO: A dangerous illness spread by bugs that bite people's faces is spreading

Other herds of bighorns or even feral cattle in the area could also be to blame for spreading the disease.

A herd of 150 bighorn sheep living on Antelope Island in Utah have been decimated by a similar outbreak. In a count earlier this month, only 26 of the sheep were still alive.



Alix Martichoux|Digital editor