Bighorn Sheep

By the early 1900's bighorn sheep had been eliminated from Bandelier National Monument and the Jemez Mountains. The Las Conchas Wildfire in 2011 created habitat that was well suited to bighorn sheep. In 2014 and again in 2016 a few dozen bighorn sheep were released just outside the southwest boundary of Bandelier National Monument. These sheep are expected to expand their range through Bandelier and along the Rio Grande corridor. By early 2017, a half dozen sheep were seen several times near the Upper Falls on the park's Falls Trail.

 

Bighorn sheep are being seen on occasion since their reintroduction just southwest of the park a few years ago.

photo by sally king