Peninsular Bighorn Sheep

MARINES MAKE FIRST-EVER WATER DROPS IN ANZA-BORREGO DESERT TO SAVE BIGHORN SHEEP DURING DROUGHT

By Miriam Raftery

October 23, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – The drought has dried up watering holes and vegetation that the Anza Borrego Desert’s iconic bighorn sheep rely upon.  Scott Gibson with the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep told ECM, “Endangered bighorn sheep mortality due to dehydration has been documented recently."

Fortunately, the U.S. Marines came to the rescue – with help from several nonprofit organizations and state agencies. In September, a Marine Corps helicopter crew made the first-ever helicopter water delivery to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Click here view a video by David Owen Hawxhurst, www.hawxhurtst.com and scroll down for details.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: BIGHORN SHEEP AT MOUNTAIN SPRINGS

 

May 24, 2013 (Mountain Springs) - Photographers Jim Pelley and Parke Ewing spotted a herd of endangered Peninsular Bighorn sheep preparing to cross I-8 in Mountain Springs, at the county line separating San Diego and Imperial Valley counties. 

Residents report that wildlife is returning to the area over the past week, since wind turbines at the adjacent Ocotillo area have been silenced during the investigation into a blade that fell from a wind turbine.

 

How many sheep can you find ih the photo below? (click "read more" to view.)  We don't know the answer, but Pelley says spotting the well-camouflaged sheep reminds him of playing "Where's Waldo."


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PHOTOS OF THE MONTH: DESERT BIGHORNS

April 12, 2012 (Ocotillo) – “My wife, Mary, and I had the pleasure of seeing a large group of bighorn sheep while we were on one of our desert wildflower trips,” Robert Baran says.

They photographed a group of 15 or more Peninsular Bighorn Sheep on Saturday, April 7 between Meyer Creek and Ocotillo.  


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HORNS APLENTY: BIGHORN SHEEP NUMBERS INCREASE IN ANZA-BORREGO

By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2011 (Anza-Borrego) –Dozens of volunteers braved 120-degree-heat at the annual four-day count of endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park last weekend.

 

Participants reported good news—sighting 329 sheep. That’s the second highest count on record (after 356  in 2009) and substantially more than last year’s count of 255.

 


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