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Responsible:
Sergio Jiménez Lezama,
Cecilia Hernández Cavazos,
Raul Valdez and James DeForge.
Advisor:
Raul Valdez.
Participant Institutions:
Organización Vida Silvestre, A.C.,
Bighorn Institute,
Wildlife and Fisheries Department of New Mexico State
University, Las Cruces, NM.
Starting date: September 1995.
Finish date: Permanent.
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The desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis weemsi) is being found
in three main areas in Baja California Sur: Las Vírgenes,
in the Santa Rosalía Municipality; La Giganta, in the
Loreto Municipality, and El Mechudo, close to the state’s
southern end. |
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Objective:
To contribute to the recovery of desert bighorn sheep’s
natural populations by means of re-introduction of individuals
into their natural ranges from the population introduced in
Carmen Island.
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To date, bighorn sheep populations has been greatly reduced,
mainly from the widespread introduction of domestic goats,
donkeys and cattle, human activities such as mining and
road construction, and illegal hunting.
It is being thought that the species’s actual distribution
in the state is only 40 % of its original historical range.
This program is being developed in two different steps:
- Capture and establishment of a herd in a controlled environment,
Carmen Island.
- The posterior re-introduction of individuals into their
historic habitats.
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