California Bighorn Sheep
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| California Bighorn Sheep Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Stuffed male in the Mono Lake visitors center. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Ovis canadensis califoriana |
The population of California Bighorn Sheep in the Sierra Nevada of California (O. c. californiana) was listed as an endangered species on January 3, 2000, following emergency listing on April 20, 1999. In 1995, these genetically distinct Bighorn Sheep hit a population low of about 100 total individuals, distributed across 5 separate areas of the southern and central Sierra Nevada, and had increased to about 125 in 1999. Since then conditions have been particularly favorable for population growth, with the total number of individuals reaching about 250 as of 2002 [1] (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/coned/ocal/archives/bighorn_sheep_jf04.pdf). These desert bighorn sheep use habitats ranging from the highest elevations along the crest of the Sierra Nevada (4,000+ meters [13,120+ feet]) to winter ranges at the eastern base of the range as low as 1,450 meters (4,760 feet). Significant population declines beginning in the late 1980s were associated with these desert bighorn sheep avoiding low elevation winter ranges.
Reference
- US Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species recovery plan for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plans/2003/030730.pdf) (adapted public domain text)
