Sick Bighorn Shot

An Idaho Fish and Game biologist Wednesday morning, June 10, shot a bighorn sheep along the Salmon River about 20 miles east of Riggins. The seven-year-old radio-collared bighorn ram appeared ill and had been observed near a private domestic sheep ranch along the Salmon River. Officials feared it suffered from pneumonia, which is often fatal to wild sheep. It was killed after eluding authorities since May 18. The sick ram had rejoined other bighorns a few miles upriver, but the ram was alone when it was shot. Fish and Game biologists took blood and tissue samples from the dead bighorn. The samples will be processed at the Caine Veterinary Teaching and Research Center and the Fish and Game Wildlife Health Center in Caldwell. Results are expected in about two weeks. The ram had been radio-collared in 2008, and blood and tissue samples taken then can be compared to the samples taken Wednesday. Other sheep in the herd carry radio collars and will be monitored closely.