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Finlay-Russel Stone’s Sheep Ewe Collar 24-0657

Currency:CAD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 CAD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 5,000.00 CAD
Finlay-Russel Stone’s Sheep Ewe Collar 24-0657
Vectronics Aerospace wildlife monitoring GPS collar 41301 was purchased by the Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia in 2022 to help monitor Stone’s sheep in the Finlay–Russell Ranges—the southernmost population of this subspecies in central British Columbia.

Working alongside provincial partners, UBC Okanagan, local First Nations, and other collaborators, WSSBC launched a four-year research initiative after an estimated 50% population decline was observed in the area.

GPS collar data help our team understand what’s happening on the landscape—where sheep travel seasonally, where they lamb, what habitats they rely on, and what factors may influence survival through harsh winters. In deep-snow country like the Finlay–Russell Ranges, this information is especially important for understanding how winter conditions and habitat quality affect sheep health and long-term population stability.

Since 2022, the project has captured, health-assessed, and collared 28 ewes. One of those sheep was ewe 24-0657 (“0657”), an 8.5-year-old ewe collared on March 23, 2024. During capture, she underwent a brief health screening as part of the provincial thinhorn sheep disease monitoring program, including bloodwork and swabs used to check pregnancy status, trace minerals, and the presence of diseases known to impact wild sheep. We’re happy to report that 0657 tested negative for key viral and bacterial pathogens associated with domestic livestock.

Although her collar stopped transmitting in February 2025, the team was able to relocate 0657 during spring recaptures and recover the collar. Even with a shorter deployment, the collar data (from multiple ewe deployments over time) have been valuable for mapping seasonal use areas, movement routes, and important habitat features—information that directly supports effective stewardship and management decisions.

Most importantly, while this herd has declined since the early 1990s, four years of monitoring now suggest the Finlay–Russell Stone’s sheep population is currently stable, with good lamb recruitment, high ewe survival, and no known disease detections. Your support makes this kind of on-the-ground monitoring possible—and it’s exactly the kind of work that helps keep wild sheep on the landscape for generations.