Horny Okanagan rams at greater risk of being hit by cars right now
It’s rutting season for rams, meaning they may be too preoccupied with hanky panky to watch out for vehicles on the roads.
Danny Coyne, ambassador with the Wild Sheep Society of B.C., is warning residents to be on the lookout for bighorn sheep along roadways.
The rams are often too preoccupied with the ewes in heat that they don’t notice oncoming traffic, he said.
Last season, he found several dead sheep along Westside Road in West Kelowna, an area he's particularly warning residents about. Westside Road is particularly risky because it's a winding road, it has some of the healthiest sheep populations in the Southern Interior and the sheep must also cross the road to access a water source, Okanagan Lake.
"Typically, in British Columbia rutting occurs from early November to early December with parturition occurring around 175 days after conception beginning in early June, peaking in mid-June, and ending the first week of July," according to the Ministry of Environment.
It can be a dangerous time for both sheep and drivers, Coyne said.
“The rams go a little crazy… all the rams are close together and they’ll chase each other around and they’ll fight… and they’ll chase those ewes around,” he said. “They run across the road a lot.”
Earlier this week, Coyne watched a ram speed across Highway 97. Near Radium last year the issue has begun to see some attention because 13 sheep were killed after colliding with vehicles, he said.
“It’s all throughout the Okanagan right now,” he said.
READ MORE: Disease crippling Bighorn sheep in the Okanagan
Other areas of concern include along Highway 97 near Skaha Lake in the South Okanagan, near Vaseux Lake north of Oliver, Skaha Lake Road, between Okanagan Falls and Penticton and east of Osoyoos along Highway 3. East of Grand Forks also has a sheep herd but a blue tongue disease wiped out roughly 70% of them this year so there won't be as many near the roads, he said.
Coyne asks drivers to be alert and be aware of the speed limits.
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