Bighorns on the Plains

I have been traveling a fair bit and/or just busy. A little time on the high plains allowed for some bighorn sheep viewing. This particular herd is from reintroduced sheep as the original population was extinguished (https://www.newswise.com/articles/national-park-service-monitors-health-of-badlands-bighorn-sheep).

There is a very, very limited hunting season on bighorns in South Dakota, but these animals were in a protected area. Not far from here, a record ram was taken in 2018. The limited hunting supports habitat and herd management. Due to disease, management is tricky and requires translocating bighorn sheep on a regular basis.