Video: See bighorn sheep released into Idaho's Owyhee canyonlands

Most of the sheep released were females, which play a critical role in boosting herds. All released sheep were fitted with GPS collars, allowing biologists to closely monitor their survival, movements, reproduction, and lamb survival. Since the sheep were translocate and the video produced, 28 of them have survived.  

Biologists are hopeful that’s a positive sign because relocated sheep can be prone to mountain lion predation until they learn their new terrain and how to avoid the cats that live there. Most of the sheep translocated were also pregnant ewes, so come spring, there will likely be a baby boom as those lambs are born, but that population bump could be short-lived if lambs don’t survive to adulthood.  

Success of the project will be not only be measured by a short-term increasing bighorn population trend. Managers will also look for increases in adult female survival, improved pregnancy and lambing rates, and greater numbers of lambs surviving to adulthood.