August 2022
Monthly Update August 2022
Late Lamb
We were excited to find a new lamb in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs early this month that looked like it was born in late June. We also had a bit of angst since it’s a late drop and we’re in a drought. Hopefully, we’ll get more rain and things will green up a bit, but these sheep are true desert dwellers and as hardy as they come.
Video: Rancho Mirage Partnership
We have had a partnership with the City of Rancho Mirage for over 30 years and they have epitomized conservation when it comes to Peninsular bighorn sheep, also the city’s logo. They reached out to do a short video about the sheep, the Institute’s work and how the city has helped this species. Click the photo to watch the video.
Hard-Headed
The rut is going strong and the rams are battling for breeding rights throughout the range. There’s a lot of head-butting going on between rams, typically initiated by the younger rams challenging more dominant rams. If you’re braving the heat and out hiking lately, you may hear a loud noise that can sound a bit like a gunshot, but it’s rams hitting heads. While in the field one morning recently, these rams were chasing ewes, chasing each other and hitting heads constantly for over an hour. Here’s a little clip (volume up):
Seeking Shade
With the sweltering summer, sheep often seek shade to stay cool. This is one of their adaptations to thrive in this often unforgiving environment-conserve energy whenever possible. It’s not hard to understand, we do the same thing whenever we’re outside in the heat-seek shade. The sheep already blend in incredibly well with their brown coats amid the brown boulders so finding them in their shade spots can often be tricky. Here are a couple of recent sightings of these masters of disguise.
Bighorn Sculpture
Cory Hamilton is a highly sought-after artist who creates custom sculptures for celebrities and professional athletes. He was a feature artist at the City of Rancho Mirage’s Celebration of the Arts Festival. The City took notice of this bighorn sheep piece, acquired and donated it to Bighorn Institute as a unique way to support us and bring awareness to this amazing animal. Thank you, City of Rancho Mirage for this beautiful piece of art and for all you do for the sheep!
*Cory Hamilton holding his sculpture and presenting it to the Institute. Photo: Janet Hamilton
Remember to Save the Date –40th Anniversary Celebration
Just a reminder that our 40th Anniversary Annual Party and Golf Classic will take place Sunday and Monday, November 20thand 21st at Stone Eagle Golf Club! This is the Institute’s primary fundraiser and is an event you don’t want to miss! We’re excited to celebrate this incredible milestone with you so mark your calendars and plan to join us! Invitations will be mailed in October. All proceeds benefit the endangered Peninsular bighorn
Ways You Can Help
There are plenty of easy and rewarding ways of helping out Bighorn Institute:
*Become a member - Renew your membership - Give a gift membership – it’s all tax-deductible!
*BI Resale Store – donate your small, high-quality items for a tax donation. BI gets 100% of sales
at Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. https://www.bighorninstitute.org/bi-resale-store
*CARS Donation Program: Donate a vehicle (car, boat, rv, etc.) to Bighorn Institute via CARS –
it’s tax-deductible! https://www.bighorninstitute.org/cars-donation-program
*Shop Amazon Smile for Bighorn Institute: we’re all shopping online more so shop for the sheep!
We get a percentage of everything you buy when shopping smile.amazon.com and choose
Bighorn Institute as your charity of choice
*“Like” Bighorn Institute on social media to stay informed and support and promote our work
Comments