“Adopt” One of Zion’s Bighorn Sheep
Petroglyphs provide mute testimony that sheep have been in Zion through the ages
©Bert Gildart: The evidence is there: bighorns have occupied Zion National Park for at least 1,000 years. Sheep petroglyphs etch the patina of canyon walls and by using various means of dating, scientists know they are ancient.
As one who has been wandering Zion for almost 30 years, I’ve known about the glyphs for decades. But I won’t tell where they are; thoughtless individuals have vandalized many of these archaeological treasure, a reason the Antiquities Act was enacted in the early 1900s.
At any rate, because I have known of their existence, it should not have been a surprise when I rounded a corner to suddenly discover a band of bighorns that were almost as surprised as was I. Quickly they scurried up the face of the Navajo sandstone, but then suddenly stopped. Though startled, the band wasn’t too startled, and moments later, regrouped where they then turned to study my presence.
No longer alarmed, they settled in further, dropping down into a comfortable position, relaxing on their stomachs.
EXTINCT FOR DECADES
Though sheep are in fact an integral part of the Zion landscape, that hasn’t always been the case. Park brochures and knowledge I acquired while writing chapters in a Sierra Club Guide to National Parks reminded me that human activity led to their extinction in this park in the 1950s –almost 40 years after Zion was established as a national park.
Sheep now number over 150 and apparently are quite healthy
And so it remained for almost 30 years, until the park began a reintroduction program. In the early 1970s, scientists brought in 12 bighorns, but from that tiny nucleus herd, their numbers climbed and now, bighorn sheep in Zion number over 150.
The band I had startled and now watched was essentially a ewe lamb group. Following the fall breeding season, rams wander off by themselves, but begin to regroup and in another month, so might be seen with other rams forming what is known as a bachelor herd. I know that from work I did on a book on Mountain Monarchs, Bighorn Sheep.
ADOPT A BIGHORN
Zion National Park continues with its efforts to protect its mountain sheep and has started a program called “Adopt a Bighorn.” By making a contribution you “adopt” a bighorn and in this manner help to insure Zion will always have a healthy population of wild sheep. Managers say that such a herd symbolizes a healthy ecosystem, in this case, a wilderness ecosystem.
A small band of sheep back dropped by Navajo sandstone
Judging from the magnetism Zion exerts on so many visitors, it is a more desirable feature to perpetuate – and is apparently a condition in which we as visitors can assist. You can adopt a bighorn by contacting a sales clerk at the Zion bookstore or by logging onto their website at Zionpark.org.
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