I had been interested in our bighorn sheep in California for a long time. My concern had been if my syndrome was beginning. I had a report out of the Chicago Zoo, that a bighorn ewe had given birth to a failing lamb that had pneumonia. The lamb was checked for the antibody level in the lungs, and it, the IgA was deficient. Along with this came my worry that with highways and fences, the sheep could no longer move freely, and this did set them up for my syndrome which develops when there is a dominant male or son of a dominant male. When the family ties become too close Mother Nature may create my syndrome.
I volunteered to be the research immunologist for the Big horn Sheep Society. Charley Jenner was the other veterinarian. Jim De Forge let the group. We would fly out in helicopters to count the sheep in the San Gabriel Mountains. The herd seemed to flourish.
We had a chance to relocate a few animals to Independence California.
We were able to capture 16 lambs and ewes with apple butter under nets, and fly out in a helicopter and tranquillize two very large rams. I was able to do my syndrome studies and they indicated that there was enough genetic differences that these sheep were compatible except for predators like cougar and people. The transplant was a success.
It is very difficult to do this with wild sheep because their blood pressure can sky rocket and rupture blood vessels which causes the death of the animal.
This is called “capture myopathy”
The transplant was so successful, that our team was asked by the Department of Fish and Game and their new veterinarian to attend. Apparently it was going to be a media event. I understand papers, magazine reporters plus the TV stations were here for the event. We are a close group of conservationist that are here only to help the sheep and not receive credit for what have volunteered to do.
I understand a travesty occurred. This was at the sheep preserve in Oregon called the Lava Bed preserve or national park. I really do not know what the mission was for the department, but we heard that when the sheep would not go under the nets, the media plus the experts all joined hands and drove the herd back into the caves. When last heard all 200 sheep had died from capture myopathy. So there after, Dr. Jenner and myself flew up to the University of California at Davis, and set up a PHD program for Jim Deforge which he successfully completed.
I moved on and set up my wildlife preserve in the Santa Monica Mountains in-spite of the disfavor of all the “recreational environmentalist”. The department of Fish and Game invited me to join their Wildlife Alliance to set up free treatment centers and rehabilitation centers throughout the state of California which we did. Finally the was help for our wild species without compensation being involved.
I am practicing for a while here in Southern California while my son and daughter-in law our enhancing our property for wildlife in North Central Idaho. Everything is working well, I just really miss the timber and the wildlife. Hopefully on day I will be able to return home forever.
Yours in Health
Dr. Al Plechner DVM
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