A Survey of Lungworm Infection in Bighorn Sheep of Montana
Forrester DJ and Senger CM. 1964. A Survey of Lungworm Infection in Bighorn Sheep of Montana. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 28(3):481-491
A survey of lungworm infection (Protostrongylus stilesi and P. rushi) in the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) of Montana was conducted from 1958 to 1963. Ninety-one percent of 900 fecal samples collected from 10 bighorn herds in western Montana contained protostrongylid larvae. Ninety-three percent of 143 lungs examined were infected with P. stilesi and 40 percent with both P. stilesi and P. rushi. No lungs contained only P. rushi. Total lesion area of P. stilesi infections averaged 2,332 mm¬¬2 and varied from 1 to 12,462 mm¬¬2. Numbers of adult P. rushi averaged 10 per infected lung and varied from 1 to 162. Sheep appeared to become infected during their first year of life. There seemed to be some association between infections of P. stilesi and P. rushi in lungs and the numbers of first-stage protostrongylid larvae in the feces when samples were compared on a herd basis. Numbers of first-stage larvae in individual fecal droppings from the same samples, in samples collected daily from the same animal, and in samples collected monthly from a herd of bighorns varied considerably. Feces collected during the spring contained more larvae than samples collected at other times of the year. Yearly variation in intensity of infection appeared to be directly correlated to the amount of precipitation in the preceding year.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Forrester, Donald; Senger, Clyde
- Units
- YELL
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis), Disease, Lungworm, Mammals, Parasites, protostrongylosis, Protostrongylus stilesi, Wildlife Health