An estimated two million bighorn sheep roamed the western United States until European and American settlement, farming and hunting reduced the population to about 20,000. They were extirpated from southern South Dakota. Some were reintroduced to nearby Custer State Park in the the 1920s, and in 1964 twenty-two were brought to Badlands National Park from Pikes Peak, Colorado.
Disease from nearby domestic sheep as well as inbreeding led to an unstable population, and disputes between federal and state wildlife management agencies prevented import of new population until 2004. Then additional sheep were brought from New Mexico to diversify the population.
We found this bachelor group of rams in nice afternoon light, and they did some wonderful posing for us. Canon corporation contributed to the study and reintroduction of sheep in Badlands, so perhaps they were showing off for the Canon glass we waved at them.
The ewes, lambs and other young stay in separate groups. The next day, we rounded a bend and found some drama silhouetted on the cliffs above.
At first we didn’t see the numerous young lambs cavorting on the rocks they were perfectly camouflaged in.
Soon we spotted over a dozen lambs running up and down the cliff-side, jumping over each other, and playfully butting heads.
With no natural predators in the Park, it’s not surprising that most lamb deaths occur when they fall. So checking in with mom once in a while is a good idea.
These little fellows made it hard to move on and see other parts of the Park. In my first three visits to the Park, I never saw any sheep. My last visit ten years ago, I just saw a couple straggly looking ewes along the road. These are some of the estimated 250 sheep in the Park, and about 80,000 now in the U.S.
