rost, I'm just pissin' and moanin'!\
But, in the NM Desert Bighorn Mgnt Plan it says (the guad mnts are just sse of the southern sac mnts):
Guadalupe Mountains (Table 5, Figure 2). While this range is comprised of good quality
bighorn sheep habitat, and had native bighorn until the 1940�s, the presence of domestic and
Barbary sheep currently preclude reintroduction of desert bighorn sheep [see Domestic sheep and
goats and Exotic ungulates] (Sandoval 1979a). Private landowners once grazed thousands of
domestic sheep. With the decreased value of wool, this number has dramatically declined,
however, many landowners retain domestics and numbers could increase should the wool market
rebound. There are an estimated 400-770 Barbary sheep in the Guadalupe Mountains with even
greater numbers north of the range. Until domestic sheep are eliminated or double fenced, and
Barbary sheep are eliminated or substantially reduced, this mountain range will not be viable
habitat.
Sacramento Mountains (Table 5, Figure 2). There have been no historic reports of bighorn on
this mountain, however there are reports of their presence starting in the 1930s (Sandoval
1979a). Bighorn habitat is limited but the range could support a small bighorn population.
Presence of domestic sheep, Barbary sheep, and feral goats currently preclude transplants to this
area [see Guadalupe Mountains] (Sandoval 1979a).
Or:
Exotic Ungulates. Aoudads, also referred to as Barbary sheep, are native to North Africa, and
were released in the Hondo Valley, Largo Canyon, and the Canadian River drainage between
1955-1970 (Ogren 1962). Viable populations have become established in historic bighorn
habitat in the Guadalupe and Sacramento Mountains. Aoudads are occasionally sighted in desert
bighorn habitats in the San Andres Mountains. They compete with desert bighorn due to their
higher rate of increase, ability to subsist on lower quality forage, and preference for habitat
similar to that of bighorn (Seegmiller and Simpson 1979). Aoudads are socially aggressive when
they encounter bighorn and may disrupt the rut. The potential for aoudads to transmit diseases to
bighorn is unclear. It is NMDGF policy to eliminate aoudads that occur in bighorn sheep habitat.
Persian wild goats, also known as ibex, were released in the Florida Mountains in 1970.
Originally from Iran, they have been sighted in the Do�a Ana Mountains 12 miles west of
occupied range in the San Andres Mountains, and a skull was recovered in the Alamo Hueco
Mountains in 1997. Like aoudads, Persian wild goats are a potential competitor with desert
bighorn sheep. A desert bighorn sheep, assumed to be from the Fra Cristobal population, was
captured while running with a group of feral Caprids (Spanish goat/ibex crosses) on the Ladder
Ranch in south central New Mexico in 1999. The potential for disease transmission exists,
however Persian wild goats housed adjacent to desert bighorn sheep at Red Rock in the early
1970�s were able to go nose-to-nose with desert bighorn with no documented disease
transmission. Both aoudads and Persian wild goats are potential alternate prey items that may
subsidize mountain lion populations to the detriment of native desert bighorn sheep. These
species also occupy former desert bighorn sheep habitat, precluding reintroduction into those
ranges.
Gemsbok, also referred to as oryx, were released onto WSMR between 1969 and 1977. Oryx,
originally from Africa, have expanded their range into rocky foothills that overlap bighorn
habitats in the San Andres Mountains and have moved into flat terrain on the periphery of
bighorn habitat in the Fra Cristobal Mountains. Although oryx are unlikely to be major
competitors with desert bighorn, the potential for disease transmission [see Diseases] and the
possibility for oryx to be alternate prey for mountain lions exists. Oryx calves, hunter-wounded
oryx, and oryx gut piles left by hunters may subsidize mountain lion diets, keeping the number of
mountain lions in these areas artificially high. Oryx have been observed in high elevations
(>6500�) in the San Andres Mountains on a regular basis, overlapping with desert bighorn
habitat. The Oryx Management Plan (NMDGF 2000) signed by NMDGF and WSMR
recommends the reduction of oryx in bighorn habitat.
Reference:
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/conservation/documents/everythingfinalBighornSheepPlan.pdfShoot those damn exotics, not state run greed for their existance over the natives. Come on, NM G&F! If you want to hunt big game in Africa then go to Africa or Persia, but give our native wildlife a break from these foriegn herbivors.
LNF150
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