You’ve never seen a relocation effort like this.
Video from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department working to capture a group of 20 bighorn sheep has gone viral in recent days, and you’ll see why soon enough. If you were tasked with catching over a dozen wild animals, you’d probably try to do so with a net, right?
Well it’s easier said than done.
The wildlife officers were seeking to trap and relocate around 20 of the bighorns in order to create a new herd in a more southern part of Colorado. So they targeted a larger grouping of bighorn, lured some of them to a certain location, and then dropped one of the biggest nets I’ve ever seen right on top of them.
Now I’ve seen plenty of examples of relocation efforts, and they usually involve tranquilizers. That tends to be the less stressful option for both the animal and the organization attempting to move the creature somewhere else. But I guess that wasn’t in the cards this time around for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department
Instead, they lured a portion of a preexisting herd with a spread of hay and apples that was placed right underneath a large, stretched out net. There were also more than 20 wildlife officials waiting close by, because once the net dropped, things were only just getting started.
Yes, the net did most of the work and “subdued” 20 of the bighorn sheep that had been fooled by the free snacks. However, as you might imagine, the wild animals weren’t exactly okay with being entangled by the large net that dropped on them.
That’s where the wildlife officials come in. Once the net dropped, they rushed into the scene and each singled out one of the bighorns. The net capture basically turned into a synchronized sheep rodeo… and I don’t know about you, but I think those doing the bighorn tackling could have used some additional protection.
Despite not suiting themselves up with any armor whatsoever, the one-versus-one human and sheep wrestling matches all ended up okay for the most part. Every person got their respective bighorn subdued, and the sheep were then blindfolded and had their legs tied together for transportation to their new home in the mountainous area south of Pueblo, Colorado.
It’s estimated that 7,000 bighorn sheep call Colorado home. Though that might seem like a healthy number, the total is actually down from the population of 7,500 that the state boasted in 2022. That’s why Colorado Parks and Wildlife continues to closely monitor population and occasionally steps in to balance out the population density.
Even if it means they have to weather chaotic captures like this one:
Pretty cool video, right?
My only question is… how do you get a job like that? Imagine having your cup of coffee and saying, “Well honey, I’m off to tackle bighorn sheep that are bucking and jumping and scared for their life. A helmet? No thanks babe… I’m a professional.”
That’s at least how I imagine things would go down the morning before.
