Anza-Borrego Sheep Count - Fall 2017

The results are in from the annual water hole count in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the numbers are down with 207 sheep sighted. Overall, they had a good count, but last year they saw 296 sheep. Volunteers spend 3 consecutive days around July 4th at a pre-determined site and count the number of sheep that come in to water and determine their sex and age. Since bighorn sheep rely more heavily on drinking water during summer, this is the best time to do a water hole count. This decrease in sheep numbers is consistent with the 2016 fall range-wide helicopter survey that estimated around 150 less sheep in the Peninsular Ranges with the current total population at approximately 800 bighorn.