Earth Day Eggs-travaganza
On April 7, 2012, the Institute participated in The
Living Desert’s Earth Day Eggs-travaganza with an information
booth. This was another wonderful opportunity to get out in the
community for public outreach and educate folks about the endangered
Peninsular bighorn sheep and Bighorn Institute’s research and
conservation efforts. The fair was very well attended and was a great
success. We want to thank directors, Mike Dee and Judy Sanders for
volunteering their time to help us with the Institute’s booth.
We look forward to participating again next year.
Board members Judy Sanders and Mike Dee man
Bighorn Institute’s booth at The Living Desert
Earth Fair.
Lambing Continues in the Wild
We have documented 27 lambs born in the northern Santa
Rosa Mountains (NSRM) this year and most of these lambs are now 2-4
months of age. This is the age that lambs are developing their own
immune systems and are most susceptible to disease. So far, all of
the lambs appear healthy and, remarkably, most of the lambs are still
alive. This herd has experienced low lamb survivorship the past few
years with many lambs dying before May. There is a lack of vegetation
available this year since there was very little green-up this spring.
As a result, many of the ewes are looking thin, but are still rearing
their young. We look forward to continuing to keep track of this herd
and seeing what happens.
Lambs in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains stay
on the side of the mountain while their mothers get
a drink.
Spring 2012 Newsletter
In mid-April, we mailed out the latest edition of The
Bighorn, the Institute’s newsletter. If you did not receive a
copy and would like one, you can either give us a call at the office
and we will be happy to mail one to you, or pick one up at the Rancho
Mirage Library, Rancho Mirage City Hall, National Monument Visitor
Center or Palm Desert Visitor Center. Our phone number is 760-346-7334.
Reminder: Lambing Season Trail Closures
We would like to remind our fellow hikers that during
lambing season, ewes isolate to give birth and care for their young
lambs. During this time both ewes and lambs are very vulnerable to
human disturbance and as such, the wildlife agencies have closed
Magnesia and Carrizo Canyons to protect the species. There are still
many beautiful desert hikes open year-round to enjoy that will not
disturb bighorn sheep during this sensitive period. We hope all
hikers respect the small inconvenience of these closures to help
recover this endangered species.