In the nearby Santa Rosa Mountains and even closer to Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA and in the golf communities of PGA West, The Tradition, SilverRock and The Quarry lives a community of endangered Big Horn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelson). The sheep can often be observed either roaming on the nearby rocky cliffs or feasting on the green fairways and landscaping of these exclusive courses. These creatures are adept at climbing along these hills because they have split, concave hooves with spongy soles that enhance their grip. It is a remarkable sight to see them move elegantly among the rocks.
During the summer these sheep can go two or three days in the heat without drinking water. In the winter they are able to survive without water for more than a month. The Bureau of Land Management considers this subspecies of the Big Horn to be “sensitive” to extinction…what we normally consider “endangered.” The population locally in 1970 was estimated to be around 1,100 animals and then fell to about 400 creatures in 2000. The estimate today is about 950. As you may guess habitat encroachment, traffic and other human caused conditions have made it more difficult for the sheep to survive. Recently a program to install fencing along the perimeter of the aforementioned resorts to help isolate the animals from human interaction was initiated. Predictably some local residents oppose the fence as unsightly. Ultimately almost ten miles of 8 foot fencing is planned. Animals are often killed by automobiles, mountain lions and the smaller lambs by Golden Eagles.
The local variety of Big Horn is somewhat smaller in stature to their cousins in northern areas…a typical adult Ram (male) weighs about 150-200 lbs. and an adult Ewe (female) only about 100-125lbs. A newborn less than a year old of either sex is called a “lamb.” Curiously the size of the magnificent horns that give these sheep their name are about the same size as their northern relatives which makes the horns disproportionally large relative to body size. After only eight years of growth a pair of horns may way in excess of 30 lbs. the horns of ewes tend to be smaller and not curl. Rams can live up to 9-12 years and the Ewes 10-14 years.
The diet of the local variety of Big Horns consists mostly of grasses but they turn to other food sources such as flowering plants or cacti.
In 1982, Bighorn Institute (a non-profit) was created by a group of biologists and veterinarians to focus on the conservation of the world’s wild sheep with an emphasis on the local Peninsular Big Horn. They have a captive breeding program that has resulted in the release of 127 Big Horn into the wild. The Institute is located in Palm Desert and you may contact the Institute at 760-346-7334 or bighorninstitute.org.
