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Wildlife Featured in this article
- Desert bighorn sheep
Watch: Capturing and conserving desert bighorn
Biologists in New Mexico conduct captures to bolster populations around the state
Since 1979, New Mexico wildlife biologists have conducted desert bighorn sheep captures to bolster populations around the state. Biologists, veterinarians and other New Mexico Game and Fish Department staff work to determine the health of the desert bighorn herd and fit the sheep with radio collars before transporting them to a new spot. Since the 1970s, the state’s desert bighorn (Ovis canadensis nelson) population has grown from 46 to over 1,100.
Watch the video below to see a recent bighorn sheep capture at the Red Rock Wilderness Management Area.
Header Image: Biologists, veterinarians and other New Mexico Game and Fish Department handle a desert bighorn sheep during a capture at the Red Rock Wilderness Management Area. Credit: New Mexico Game and Fish Department
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