A Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep grazing in the Rio Grande Gorge in NM. These guys were reintroduced to the region around 10 years ago and seem to be doing very well. We were surprised to observe several on recent hike in that area including one youngster grazing along with their Mom.
nature has no boss 
Beautiful! I had heard they were there and thriving. It’s always exciting to see such beautiful animals.
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Hi and it was a surprise for us to see these guys. Every couple of years we find our way to this area but this time was the first we saw Bighorn and several as well.
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Great picture, Mike!
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Thanks, this guys was happy to oblige our watching him from a distance.
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Out of curiosity,……why did they have to be reintroduced Mike?
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Hi and sorry for the tardy response on this one. From what I have read they essentially were wiped out from two front overhunting in the 1800’s as well as disease transmitted from domestic sheep which were extensively grazed in these area in the early 1900’s. Several previous attempts to reintroduce them had failed until about the 1980’s when they were reintroduced in significant enough numbers to make it work.
Hope your weekend was great and have a wonderful week ahead.
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Nice photograph! I have made one failed attempt to see and photograph these beautiful creatures. Hopefully I’ll get to see them soon. Thanks for sharing!
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Hi David, we hope you do get to see these guys and photograph them as well. There are many spots in Colorado where they are typically present but this was a surprise for us to see them in NM.
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Love the soft colors in this shot – well-composed!
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Thanks Eliza, that be fall grass sure helped with the color palette.
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Wow, what strikes me is that goat eye! It’s amazing.
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Hi and thanks, It is amazing just how large the eyes of bighorn sheep are.
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