Elis A Fisk, E Frances Cassirer, Katey S Huggler, Allan P Pessier, Laura A White, Joshua D Ramsay, Elizabeth W Goldsmith, Holly R Drankhan, Rebecca M Wolking, Kezia R Manlove, Todd Nordeen, John T Hogg, Kyle R Taylor
Low lamb recruitment can be an obstacle to bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) conservation and restoration. Causes of abortion and neonate loss in bighorn sheep, which may affect recruitment, are poorly understood. Toxoplasma gondii is a major cause of abortion and stillbirth in domestic small ruminants worldwide, but no reports exist documenting abortion or neonatal death in bighorn sheep attributable to toxoplasmosis. Between March 2019 and May 2021, eight fetal and neonatal bighorn lamb cadavers from four western US states (Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, and Washington) were submitted to the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for postmortem examination, histologic examination, and ancillary testing to determine the cause of abortion or neonatal death...
January 17, 2023: Journal of Wildlife Diseases