GPS
Even they can’t get off the grid search
It’s well known around Kelowna there are lots of sheep around here, so I decided to go photograph them.
I didn’t really have any interest other than photographing their beauty — because whenever I drove past, I thought they were pretty.
Literally had no other motivation than that.
But then, to my surprise (and confusion), I encountered a herd - and some of them had numbered tags, and one even had a giant, GPS block-looking-necklace. So naturally, once I got home, I obviously began researching who could be tracking these creatures.
Given the internet’s reputation, I 100% didn’t think it’d be difficult to locate information on these little guys. I genuinely thought I’d find something on them within the first five minutes; didn’t think it’d be difficult. But guess what? All I found were some random sheep facts, and some general information on the sheep in BC e.g. did you know it’s the Californian Bighorn Sheep that lives in the Okanagan? I didn’t.
The articles I found describe a pretty severe disease sweeping the population, but other than that, there isn’t any definitive information on who (and why) these trackers or numbers are on them?
Here, take a look:
Okanagan Nation Alliance: “The health of the yilíkʷlxkn (Okanagan bighorn sheep herds) has been compromised by several diseases.”
Okanagan-Similkameen Stewardship: “[California] Bighorn Sheep are at high risk of diseases often carried by domestic sheeps and goats.”
Kelowna Now: “ [we] can’t stand by and watch as lambs continue to die each year.”
The Narwhal: “In the 1980s bighorn sheep began to be infected with mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), which ultimately causes pneumonia, after interacting with domestic sheep. The illness swept across the population and, combined with the surge of changes on the land caused by colonial settlement and industrialization, almost wiped out bighorn sheep.”
Lone Ram with Tracker
2024
Reading about this disease is disheartening; I don’t have a clue if they’re related though.
But I genuinely can’t find any connection: like, I really tried.
I just know that the GPS collar looks heavy, and if it’s not even doing anything, I feel like it should be removed? Same with the numbers on the others? I know he looks serene in this photograph, but watching him run? Well, he ran a little lopsided.
That just made me pity him.
So I just hope whoever administered this collar didn’t forget about them - it seems like such an unfortunate piece of tech to just abandon on a sentient being.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a grandiose, sociopolitical reason tied to photographing these specific animals — it’s pretty unreported on by the public.
I did, however, find out about the curious relationship between these sheep and Okanagan civilization. It wasn’t until I began researching this did I discover these sheep are native to the area, and it seems our encroachment has essentially introduced a severe disease.
Based on the articles I listed above, people are trying to conserve and combat this disease quite vigorously because this illness might push these Bighorn Sheep to endangered status.
And that sucks.
PS (2025, January) : I’ve since been back to find them and no dice; I also contacted Kelowna Now to see if they knew anything and they diiiiiid not.
Extracted from the National Park Service website.
Click the photo for a link, if you like.
