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Lamb production and recruitment are major determinants in the population management of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). However, lamb production depends on pregnancy rate, which is difficult to determine in wild animals. We determined whether pregnancy-specific protein B could be used to detect pregnancy in mountain sheep. We captured mountain sheep in southern California in early November 1992 and evaluated them for pregnancy using trans-abdominal ultrasound and pregnancy-specific protein B in serum. Of 27 females tested, 17 were classified as pregnant using ultrasound and pregnancy-specific protein B, one tested pregnant using ultrasound but negative using pregnancy-specific protein B, 6 tested pregnant using pregnancy-specific protein B but were negative on ultrasound, and 3 were determined to be not pregnant using both methods. There was a significant correlation (phi (2) =0.811, P=0.093) between the 2 methods of pregnancy determination. The pregnancyspecific protein B assay appears to be useful to diagnose early pregnancy in mountain sheep.