Bighorn sheep are us-regions.
The North Dakota Department of Game and Fish confirmed that the number of bighorn sheep is 15% above the five-year average for the state.
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It’s also up 4% from last year’s results, which was itself a record-setting year.
Brett Wiedmann, big game biologist, said, “We were encouraged to see the count of adult rams increase to near-record levels, and adult ewes were at record numbers. Most encouraging was a record lamb count corresponding with a record recruitment rate.”
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The Bighorn Sheep totals were up 4% from last year’s totals, which was also a record-setting year.
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Some areas of the state did see a decline in the bighorn sheep population, however. The southern badlands region saw the lowest number of sheep since 1996.
State officials had also been concerned about the spread of a deadly pathogen Mycoplasma, which was first documented in the state’s bighorn population in 2014. While the department noticed a number of sheep coughing during the survey, which would suggest that the pathogen is still active, it appears to have a low prevalence.
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The state is considering a bighorn sheep hunt for later in 2022. It will make a final determination by September 1, after it analyses the results from its summer population survey.