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November/December 2002 issue	In this issue Table of Contents Editor’s Notebook Feature: Bighorn sheep The Inside Story Reverberations À la carte Mosaic

Sacrificial Ram (feature) |  Bighorn sheep facts | Bighorns on the move | Archives

Bighorns on the move
Transplanted Canadian sheep help American populations recover
By Carol Hilton

When you think of significant Albertan exports, your mind might immediately jump to oil, meat, canola or even popular entertainers such as Jann Arden. But for the last decade the province has shared an important export of a different kind with our neighbours south of the border: Alberta’s very own official mammal, the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep range from British Columbia and Alberta south to Mexico, but a number of populations in the United States have undergone severe declines in the last century. In some areas, the sheep have been wiped out completely. But a program of cooperation between the Alberta and state governments aims to change that. Bighorn sheep from a healthy population at the Luscar mine near Cadomin, Alta., are being transplanted to several American states to revitalize dwindling U.S. herds and save this regal creature from local extinctions.

The initiative began in 1989 when the state of Nevada requested animals from Alberta Fish and Wildlife to help in their bighorn sheep population recovery program. That year, 20 sheep were relocated to the state, followed by 25 in 1990 and 31 in 1992. Since then, a total of 158 sheep have gone to Oregon, Idaho, Utah and South Dakota.

Many bighorn populations in the U.S. have experienced dramatic declines in the last 150 years due to overhunting and the transmission of diseases from domestic sheep in areas where ranch land encroaches on wild sheep habitat, according to Beth MacCallum, an independent wildlife biologist based in Hinton, Alta. With the exception of the certain areas in British Columbia, such as the Okanagan Valley, and southern Alberta, this has not been a big problem in Canada because in our country’s landscape, wild sheep terrain is further removed from agricultural land, she explained.

MacCallum has been involved in the transplantation program since 1995, helping to organize and execute the captures of the sheep at the Luscar Mine. "The Luscar Mine sheep were selected as the export population because it’s a healthy, growing population, and because it’s relatively easy to get vehicles, equipment and people in there," she said.

Bighorn sheep normally inhabit rough terrain that would make a capture scenario extremely difficult and dangerous. But the Luscar Mine area already has access roads, and it is undergoing environmental reclamation that includes the planting of forage crops attractive to the sheep. As more of the mine land is reclaimed, the more the sheep population grows. For these reasons, all of the transplanted bighorns from Alberta have come from the mine area, except for a similar program between 1922 and 1973 that saw sheep from Banff, Jasper and Waterton Lakes National Parks moved to locations in several states. The process of capturing the sheep involves weeks of preparation, even in the accessible mine.

MacCallum begins by baiting the site with alfalfa hay, a welcome meal in the winter when the captures are performed. The winter is chosen in part because ewes will be pregnant, therefore representing the best contribution to a population at low numbers. Once the sheep are in the habit of visiting the designated capture area, MacCallum and her larger group of volunteers gathers for a one-day event.

On the capture day, the volunteers are briefed on the procedures for handling the animals and safety in the mine area. The group then hides in wait for the sheep. Once the bighorns congregate, an overhead net is dropped on them. Then it’s a mad rush for the volunteers to get to the sheep and untangle them to prevent injury, and to calm them by placing blindfolds over their eyes. The sheep are then hobbled and carried to the trailer where their blindfolds and hobbles are removed.

MacCallum proudly notes that none of the sheep have been harmed in the captures, but a couple of the human volunteers have had some close – and somewhat humourous – calls. "We have had some rodeo-like incidents while trying to capture the sheep," she said. "You always have the sheep trying to bust out from the net. If they’ve still got a blindfold attached, you don’t want that animal to get away, and we did have something like that almost happen. One of the men who was a little bit overweight made this magnificent effort and just tackled the sheep. Neither was hurt, but it was kind of comical."

Another light-hearted moment came when one of the trailers to transport the sheep arrived with "ewe haul" painted on the side. But getting the sheep across the border is still serious business. The sheep must undergo a battery of tests for diseases such as brucellosis, and it has to happen fast; veterinarians take blood samples on site to speed up paperwork, and the sheep usually get to their destinations within a day or two of capture.

The state requesting the sheep pays for the costs of the operation, but no money changes hands for the animals themselves because they are viewed as a public resource and are not "owned" by the government – or anyone else, for that matter. "You don’t want to put a price on an animal’s head," MacCallum said.

But besides contributing to the health of bighorn populations in the U.S., Alberta itself has benefited from another wildlife transplantation. The province has received swift foxes from some of the northern states for reintroduction programs there.

And in addition to helping the bighorns recover, the relocated Canadian sheep have a profound effect on their new human neighbours. MacCallum said the arrival of the sheep inspires a big celebration, with lots of media attention, barbecues for the entire town and scores of people watching their release.

"It means a lot to them," she said. "The excitement around it is pretty high. It may be hard for Canadians to understand…. We sometimes are almost a little too casual in terms of what we really have for a resource."

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