The desert bighorn sheep was once extinct in Texas, but its reintroduction has gone a little too well on Elephant Mountain. A complex operation involving helicopters, nets and blindfolds is capturing and relocating 74 of them. (texasstandard)
A helicopter maneuvers sheep, blindfolded and dangling from a tether, to the field study site where veterinarians and researchers will collect data about the species. This relocation effort is done in hopes of reviving the Desert Big Horn Sheep population in West Texas.
“Elephant’s been a very successful breed site,” Dittmar says. “That probably combines good habitat, good management, and just a little bit of luck.” They’re native to West Texas – you can find ancient petroglyphs of them out here. But as recently as the 1960s,. Ranchers moved into the area in the early 20th century to raise domestic sheep and goats, and pushed out the bighorns. The wild sheep died from diseases carried by their domestic cousins, and the ranchers’ fences impeded their movement, isolating herds. They were also hunted with impunity.
“When we do a capture event like this…we try to take advantage of that and get every conceivable sample we need or might need in the future,” says Cook.The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department relocate Desert bighorn sheep from Elephant Mountain to Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. Native to West Texas, the Desert Big Horn sheep’s population dramatically decreased with the growth of the domestic sheep herding industry., and biologists rarely have a chance to get their hands on one.
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