January 2026

Bighorn Institute
3 days ago
3 min read

Reminder: Membership Meeting Feb. 7th

Our Annual Membership Meeting is a week away and will take place on Saturday, February 7^th from 8:30 - 9:30am at Bighorn Institute. We will discuss our accomplishments in 2025, plans for 2026 and elect the Institute’s 2026 Board of Directors. All current members are welcome, but you must RSVP at 760-346-7334 or email us bi@bighorninstitute.org. We hope you can join us!

Population Update

On January 1^st, all lambs born in the spring of 2025 are considered yearlings and have been added as adults into the population. Lamb survival in the San Jacinto Mountains (SJM) near Palm Springs doubled with 9 lambs surviving to yearling age. We also documented a ewe that gave birth twice last year, once in January and again in August. She successfully reared her first lamb so it was a nice surprise that she gave birth again. It’s quite an anomaly for bighorn sheep to give birth twice in the same calendar year and has not been documented elsewhere. There are now approximately 85 adult bighorn in the SJM herd. Lamb survival in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains (NSRM) near Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert saw nearly two dozen lambs survive. The NSRM herd now numbers approximately 140 adult bighorn. In the central Santa Rosa Mountains herd near La Quinta, around 20 lambs survived and there are now approximately 168 adult bighorn in this herd, according to the CDFW 2024 helicopter survey. Overall, these herds are increasing slightly or holding steady.

Lambs are Here!

It’s that time of year again where little gray lanky, legged lambs hop around the hills and we’re excited to let you know that we’ve already seen lambs in two of our three study herds, the San Jacinto Mountains in Palm Springs and the northern Santa Rosa Mountains near Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert. Lambing season extends from January through June for Peninsular bighorn sheep so these sheep are just getting started. We expect to see more lambs in the days ahead and will keep you posted. That said, if you’re out hiking, please let us know if you see lambs since most of the ewes are unmarked. You can call 760-346-7334 or email us at bi@bighorninstitute.org. However, please don’t post on social media where you see lambs as it often attracts others and too many people can be stressful to the ewes with their newborns. Here’s to another successful lambing season!

New La Quinta Guzzler

A permanent man-made water source, a guzzler, was finally installed in the foothills of La Quinta in mid-December thanks to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep. The guzzler will provide a water source for the sheep being fenced out of the golf courses in La Quinta. There was a temporary guzzler before this permanent one could be installed and the sheep were using it so we expect them to start using the new guzzler as soon as it heats up and they need a drink. Right now, we’ve got some incredibly lush vegetation in the mountains from our winter rain so the sheep don’t need to physically drink water, but it will be waiting for them when they need it.

Member Hike

Our January Member Hike was a success and we got great views of 20 sheep! Our next Member Hike will be held on Wednesday, February 11^th and will likely be moderately strenuous (up to 1,000 ft elevation gain). Space is limited, no dogs, and you must RSVP for this first come first served hike. To sign up or for more information, please call us at 760-346-7334 or email us at bi@bighorninstitute.org.

Outreach and Education

In early January, we gave presentations to the Coachella Valley Allumnae Panhellenic and the Committee of Twenty-Five. Both groups enjoyed learning about the bighorn and asked great questions.

Join us Thursday, February 12^th at 3:00pm at the Mizell Center in Palm Springs for our presentation, Bighorn Sheep in the Coachella Valley, part of Oswit Land Trust’s speaker series. Please RSVP by contacting David Paisley at DavidP@OswitLandTrust.org.