Techno Jewelry
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; whenever I drove past, I thought they were pretty - and I also was hoping to just get some photographs of a ram on the side of the mountainside if I was lucky.
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.
Taken from an open source article distributed by the BC Government.
Click the image if you want to read it.
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, but all I found were some random sheep facts, and some general information on the sheep in BC. (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 put trackers or numbers 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. I genuinely can’t find any information. 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 it run, it ran kind a little lopsided. It made me pity him.
I hope whoever administered this collar didn’t forget about them - it seems like such an unfortunate jewelry piece.
Unfortunately there isn’t a grandiose, sociopolitical reason tied to the photographing of these specific animals. But as this seemed to unfold, it seems I stumbled upon a curious insight on relationship between these sheep and civilization. These sheep are native to the area, and it seems our encroachment has essentially introduced a severe disease. Based on the articles and their quotes, people are trying to conserve and combat this disease that’s putting them near endangered status.
I just really hope that’s the case.
PS: 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. I’m going to continue to visit, see what’s what. I hope to uncover more, but I’m not really hopeful.
Extracted from the National Park Service website.
Click the photo for a link, if you like.
