North Dakota Game and Fish says the state has set another bighorn sheep record.
Biologists counted 378 head in the badlands of western North Dakota last year. That survey put the total 8 percent above last year and 10 percent above the five-year average, making it the fifth record count in the past six years. 104 rams, 234 ewes and 40 lambs were spotted.
That total does not include about 40 bighorns in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park or animals introduced on the Fort Berthold Reservation in 2020. Officials estimated the total statewide to be around 500.
Game and Fish says the northern badlands herd hit a record high, while the southern badlands herd stayed near its lowest level since bighorns were reintroduced there in 1966.
A bighorn hunting season is tentatively planned again for this year, with a final decision due after the summer survey on Sept. 1. North Dakota is one of 15 states that allows hunting of bighorn sheep.
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