Kaiparowits Big Horn Sheep Twelve bighorn sheep nine ewes and three rams when sheep were moved from the upper ends of Lake ., , - 1 :,: :- twins are not uncommon, the survial rate is poor. The sheep generally breed in November and bear their young in March or April, a five-month gestation period. The female may bear young for eight or nine years, game biologists believe, but desert bighorns are believed to be old by the time they are 11 or 12 years old. January is traditionally the month in which sheep are transplanted, when flying weather is better and the sheep have bred and can safely be moved well before their lambing season. The desert bighorn is a close cousin to the Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. While the more northern sheep have coats often began a new life on the rugged Kaiparowits Pleateau, much of which lies within Garfield County, planted by Division of Wildlife and National Park Service Personnel. The 12 scrambled quickly up the cliffs from their release point at Rock Creek Baby on Lake Powell. They would make their home where their ancestors had once roamed in great 1 numbers. Father Escalante in his i historic trip had noted in his ! Journal in 1776 that tracks of the desert bighorn were i more numerous than those of domestic herds. i Though the desert bighorn was once common ) throughout the area, its i susceptibilty to disease, its inabiltity compete sue- cessfully with other animals i for food, and of course its ! popularity as a hunting prize 1 all contributed to its near i extinction in its once-native ! habitat. ! Special funding has led to the transplant plan which began functioning in 1976 grayish-brown, their desert counterparts have coats of pale buff that can blend into the cliffs of their habitat. All the sheep are creamy white on the lower parts of their bodies and have patches of the same color on their rumps. Male bighorns stand from 3 feet 2 inches high at the shoulder to 36 feet high, and (Continued on Page 11-B) Powell into the Escalante River Canyons. From 1976 through 1978 during three seasons, the DWR moved 23 sheep, including about five rams, putting radio collars on about 10 of them. At the last aerial count, 10 sheep were counted, only two with radio collars, leading DWR personnel to conclude that the transplants tran-splants had taken hold in the area and multiplied. The presence of many tracks made them well-satisfied that their plan was working since they only expect to count about 25 percent from the air. This year's transplant was the most successful with a total of 46 sheep moved into three separate areas into southern Utah. The desert bighorns were transplanted from the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park to The Maze area of the park, the San Rafael Swell north of Hanksville, and the Kaiparowits Plateau. A helicopter was used do drive the sheep into tangle nets set up by DWR and NPS personnel. The nets cause no harm to the animals. Some are then transported by helicopter if transplant areas are inaccessdible by truck, or, in the case of the Kaiparowiats transplant, by truck, and then by boat on Lake Powell to their release area. The sheep are released in groups of two or three where they intermingle with other groups. Ewes which mature at one-and-one-half to two-and-one-half years usually bear one lamb. Although Kaiparowits Big Horn Sheep (Continued from Page 10-B) old rams can weigh well over 200 pounds. The ewes are smaller and more delicate. Desert bighorn sheep do not have wool as domestic sheep do; instead they have a coat of hair similar to that of a deer. The incredible agility of the desert bighorn begins almost at birth and lambs only two or three days old can go wherever their mothers go. Bighorns jump and climb easlily in the most dangerous places and seem to have no fear. They can plunge at great speed down steep slopes and elude wolves or coyotes by their ability. They feed on grasses and other small plants and eat the tender twigs of bushes. Soft elastic pads on the bighorn's feet absorb the shock of its bouncing gait and also provide an effective grip on the rocks. They are found in the more remote areas of the county in areas often accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles or horseback.