OHA is supporting an effort to remove cougars to benefit bighorn sheep in the Trout Creek Mountains. ODFW plans to translocate bighorn sheep in the near future to augment the existing herd and enhance its genetic diversity.
There are many examples of cougar predation negatively affecting translocation efforts.
In the early 2000s, the Minam River bighorn sheep translocation saw 3 of 17 released sheep killed by cougars within one week, and the second in the Steens, where 5 out of the 10 collared ewes were killed by cougars.
In both instances, the remaining sheep scattered and left the area.
“The science is clear,” said OHA Conservation Director Tyler Dungannon. “If you want to successfully translocate bighorn sheep, in most cases, you need to first reduce predator densities and remove individuals that will prey upon the naïve ungulates that are new to the landscape.”
OHA believes this effort will greatly improve the success of future bighorn sheep translocations and will benefit the declining population size and genetic diversity in the Trout Creek Mountains.
Though not the primary objective, this effort may also aid the Trout Creek mule deer herd range currently listed as “very high management concern” in the Oregon Mule Deer Management Plan.
