With the help of a local Native American tribe, 21 desert bighorn sheep became part of an important reintroduction program to create a population of Nevada’s state animal in lands they’ve been absent from for almost 100 years.
The animals were deposited on the shores and hills around Pyramid Lake near the Nevada-California border.
“We’ve recovered a species lost in time,” Emily Hagler, a biologist for the Paiute Tribe, told KTVN. “It’s been a main focus of the tribe for many years, recovering our fisheries and now to be able to recover a large game species is incredibly tremendous.”
The Paiute of Pyramid Lake were heavily involved in the reintroduction efforts. In June of 2018, after consultation with bighorn sheep conservationist Larry Johnson the tribe agreed to begin coordinating with the Department of Wildlife on the project.
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A November 2018 resolution that designated the bighorn sheep as a “tribal species of protection” was the launching point towards the capture and release of 17 ewes and 4 rams into an area where the last confirmed sighting of desert bighorn was by pioneers heading west in the early 20th century.
“We’ve been trying to restore sheep to every possible mountain range that they lived in back in the day,” Mike Cox told the Vegas Review Journal, statewide bighorn sheep program coordinator and staff biologist for the department.
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All 21 sheep received a shiny, brand-new radio collar and the ewes had a blood test to ensure they were pregnant. This way at least a dozen lambs should be born onto the land in the spring of 2020 to help jump start the population and encourage the females to stay in the area, thus encouraging rambling rams to move into Pyramid Hills to breed the ewes in the fall and winter.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to remove some of those and give them a little bit more space and then allow a herd to take off here and grow on their own,” said Cox.
(WATCH the spectacular release below)
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