Bighorn Sheep Return to Big Bend Ranch State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife [Official] Video Lecture | Hunter Education: Becoming an Expert Hunter - Hobbies

Come on, big boy!
THE BIGHORNS ARE BACK.
50 YEARS AGO THESE
WILD MOUNTAIN SHEEP
DISAPPEARED FROM TEXAS.
TODAY MARKS A HISTORIC RETURN
TO THEIR HOMELAND.
We're collaborating with
State Parks to
reintroduce a species that
hasn't been here in decades.
NATIVE TO THE RUGGED MOUNTAINS
OF WEST TEXAS,
DESERT BIGHORNS WERE WIPED OUT
BY UNREGULATED HUNTING
AND DISEASE.
They're part of our natural history
out here in west Texas.
They were here long before any
of us showed up.
They're part of the natural
ecosystem out there
and of course they're a flagship
species of these mountains.
TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE HAS
BEEN PARTNERING WITH
OTHER WILDLIFE GROUPS TO
REESTABLISH THE BIGHORN POPULATION
IN TEXAS.
You know they're just a magnificent
species,
one of the most rare and
we're just happy to be a part
of bringing them back.
AS HERDS GAIN A FOOTHOLD
IN WEST TEXAS,
SHEEP CAN BE MOVED TO BALANCE
AVAILABLE HABITAT.
HOW DO YOU MOVE AN ANIMAL
WITH HORNS
THAT WEIGH UP TO
30 POUNDS?
VERY CAREFULLY.
Today we're capturing bighorn sheep
of course
and we're transplanting them
to Big Bend Ranch State Park.
The blindfolds help, number one, to
keep the animals calm
and it also keeps the dust
out of their eyes.
We're going to be tracking
these animals.
We've also got partners out here
taking blood samples.
We're trying to get some baseline
information from these animals.
That's important for future
restoration projects.
Ticks?
These animals are fitted
with GPS collars.
At some point in time the collars
will fall off
and we can download those data
and see where the sheep have been
and what they've been utilizing.
The rams will--they're known
to fight.
So we try to keep the rams separate
just to cut down on fighting.
THESE SHEEP ARE TRANSFERRED
ABOUT 100 MILES AWAY
TO BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK.
THIS MARKS THE FIRST BIGHORN
SHEEP REINTRODUCTION
AT A TEXAS STATE PARK.
Seeing a new species that was
here many years ago
to return to these grounds,
It was just very touching,
it really was.
Seeing those little white rumps
just jump, jump moving so fast
something we've never seen or had
out here before.
BIGHORN FANS HOPE TO SEE
MORE OF THESE MAJESTIC ANIMALS
RECLAIM THEIR NATURAL HOME.
This is just one of those steps
in the process.
There's a lot of other private land
tracks
and public land tracks we hope to
restore sheep to someday.