Relocated rams hang on after hard winter

The loss of four bighorn sheep who were recently transported to the Kootenai Falls Wildlife Management area outside of Libby can be chocked up to bad timing, according to Bruce Sterling, a wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks out of Thompson Falls.

The sheep were pulled from Wild Horse Island near Kalispell last November to strengthen the herd near Kootenai Falls, but four have been found dead - one due to a mountain lion.

“I don't know what kind of condition that ram was in,” Sterling said of the mountain lion kill discovered on Kootenai River Trail. “But based on the fact we had three feet of snow, that's pretty tough for any animal to survive - even in tiptop condition.”

Sterling noted the recent rut, or ram's mating season, was also a factor in the loss.

“When the rams were pulled off of Wildhorse Island, their body weight was down 20 percent after the rutting season,” he said.

Libby Game Warden Steve Magone, said moving the rams after the rut left them in a weaker state, making them more susceptible to the extreme winter conditions.

But both agreed it was the massive amount of snow covering their forage that hurt the rams.

“The main cause (of the deaths) was the 23 days of snowfall in the winter range,” Sterling said.

Sterling added that if they would have transplanted them at any other time in the last 10 years, they most likely would have survived.

At least disease was not a factor with the herd - something that other relocated herds have succombed to this year.

A number of bighorn sheep south of Helena in the Elkhorn Mountains died from pneumonia this year, according to the FWP website, www.fwp.mt.gov.

The nearly always-fatal respiratory disease was suspected when a traveler reported sick bighorn sheep on the Indian Creek Road near Townsend in January.

“All indications suggested pneumonia,” said Tom Carlsen, a wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, noting they had picked up about six carcasses as of early January.

Sterling said the Libby area wildlife biologist Jerry Brown will be flying the herd the first week in April to count their numbers.

“Then we'll see how many rams survived and what kinds of numbers for ewes.”