Twentynine Palms, CA – Joshua Tree National Park officials have confirmed an outbreak of pneumonia in the bighorn sheep population.

The disease was first reported last May. A sheep was found dead three months later.

The mortality rate for infected animals is 50-90% and there is no vaccine or cure.

This form of disease typically enters into a population from contact with domestic sheep or goats. An outbreak such as this can cause a long term decline in the population that can last more than a decade.

Biologists have a formed an interagency task-force to monitor outbreaks.

Story Date: October 10, 2015