As part of an ongoing effort to repopulate the bighorn's historic habitat, Texas wildlife workers released 34 ewes and a dozen rams into the mountains of Big Bend Ranch State Park (adjacent to the similarly named national park) just days before Christmas. According to the AP, 80 onlookers cheered as the majestic sheep made their way up the cactus-covered slopes of their new home.
The release, which marked the first reintroduction of the bighorn into a Texas state park, came as an early Christmas present to the desert ecosystem. "It never gets old," wildlife manager Mike Pittman told television station WITI in Milwaukee about the bighorn release events. "It's always exhilarating."
