COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Bighorn sheep counts took place on Pikes Peak Wednesday morning. 50 people—including biologists, wildlife experts and volunteers—woke up before sunrise, divided into 10 teams and scattered throughout America’s Mountain to engage in the search and observations.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) official said the first recorded count like this was in 1949, and annual counts began in 1988.
“The reason we’re doing this count is to assess what our population’s like for bighorn sheep,” CPW Area Wildlife Manager Tim Kroening explained. “We’re going to be getting a ratio of males and females, and that helps us know what our license should be for the year. We do have a limited number of hunting licenses up on Pikes Peak for bighorn sheep. There are five of those hunting licenses available each year through a lottery system, but we’re also looking at the herd health.”
Kroening told 11 News that they’ve seen a decrease in the species’ population due to health reasons, but they’re hoping it will rise once again due to new lambs.
“They’re suffering from pneumonia, and it is something that they’re susceptible to,” Kroening said. “They live through extremely harsh environments up there on Pikes Peak, up to 14,000 feet in elevation, and the winters can be really tough… We’re counting lambs. They’re extremely cute looking this time of year, little fluff balls, and that’s probably one of my highlights is getting to see some of those… But, that also means we’re getting recruitment into our population if we’re seeing a good number of lambs… That population can help us see if it’s growing, stable or declining.”
According to CPW, the first recorded count in 1949 reflected a population of 205 bighorn sheep on Pikes Peak. In 2024, they say the population was 82.
Counting and observing bighorn sheep has become an annual tradition for one volunteer.
“I’ve been doing the sheep count for probably about 15 years,” CPW Volunteer Nathan Kettner said. “I got involved when I met a wildlife biologist, she’s still here today too, and so it’s become kind of like a small family, second family. She knew that going up Pikes Peak and hiking around looking for sheep was something that not a lot of people can do and want to do early in the morning. But, as a hunter, that’s what I live to do, so I always love doing this. It’s great to meet other hunters and all the wildlife biologists… When you’re up on the mountain, it’s just peaceful. It’s quiet, usually. And, you get to see wildlife, which is always exciting.”
CPW said Wednesday’s count was the first of two planned for the year.
Bighorn sheep counts took place on Pikes Peak Wednesday morning.
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