Heavy Rains and Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Update

The Bighorn Sheep Reintroduction Project Update Status update for 7/7 to 7/20 is now available (all updates are currently available here). Interesting details:

  • 13 of the remaining 14 collared sheep are known to be alive; one of the collars maybe malfunctioning.
  • The lambs were last observed 4-6 weeks ago and are assumed to be doing well.
  • Researchers are planning to use the Cox proportional hazards (PH) model to help them examine the influence of different factors on sheep mortality. Horizontal visibility is mentioned as an important factor in mountain lion predation and a variable that the researchers would like to collect data on – possibly using volunteers.

 

From the latest update: “While the methods for measuring [horizontal visibility] are pretty straightforward, the challenge for our research team will be reaching all the necessary locations, so we may be calling for volunteers to help us in the near future! So if you like to hike in the Catalinas and want to follow in the footsteps of a bighorn sheep or two, there may soon be an opportunity to be involved in our ongoing research!”

 

A number of articles about the summer storm and heavy rains yesterday: