The Island herd: 55 sheep relocated as population grows

ANTELOPE ISLAND — Last week, 55 California bighorn sheep took flight, albeit a short one, from their mountaintop home to a reception area a couple miles away.

Upon landing, firmly planted, they were given a physical, dressed in a new radio collar and given a ticket to a new home — 35 going to Stansbury Mountains and 20 to Newfoundland Mountains. Next year, more island sheep could take the short flight and go on to a new home, and the year after, more sheep.

The island herd, said Steve Bates, wildlife biologists with the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, is so productive now, "this could become an annual event."

The first group of sheep, 23 of them, were put on the island in 1997. Today, the herd numbers around 200.

"Our target is to keep the herd between 120 to 150 sheep," said Justin Dolling, northern region biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "In this effort, we will take a fair number of larger rams in order to allow more ewes to carry over, and thus increase their ability to reproduce."

And there were, in this trapping operation, a large number of older rams with their trademark circular horns that were caught and moved.

Biologists, volunteers and a crew from a private capture company gathered in the early hours of the morning.

The first sheep came in mid-morning. The plan was to capture 35 sheep the first day and, if necessary, complete the capture over two following days.

The capture team flew the high ridges of the island by helicopter and when the right sheep was spotted, they swooped down and from an open door shot a neon-colored net over the animal.

Crew members then untangled the sheep, hog-tied and blindfolded it, and then wrapped each animal in a canvas carrying bag, which was then hooked to a cable under the helicopter. The suspended passenger was then flown to the reception area below Buffalo Point on the northern end of the island.

Once checked and tagged, each animal was placed in trailers and driven to its new home.

Dolling also pointed out that the island is a very productive nursery for sheep, primarily because it is disease free. Upwards of 35 to 40 lambs a year are born into the herd.

The greatest threat to the survival of wild sheep is domestic sheep. Domestic sheep carry a number of diseases they can tolerate, but which are fatal to wild sheep.

Once domestic sheep have grazed range, it takes several years before it is safe for wild sheep. Back in 1997, when the first sheep came in from Kamloops, British Columbia, the island had been free of domestic sheep for decades.