COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Bighorn sheep counts took place on Pikes Peak Wednesday morning. 50 people\u2014including biologists, wildlife experts and volunteers\u2014woke up before sunrise, divided into 10 teams and scattered throughout America\u2019s Mountain to engage in the search and observations. <\/p>\n
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) official said the first recorded count like this was in 1949, and annual counts began in 1988.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason we\u2019re doing this count is to assess what our population\u2019s like for bighorn sheep,\u201d CPW Area Wildlife Manager Tim Kroening explained. \u201cWe\u2019re 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\u2019re also looking at the herd health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kroening told 11 News that they\u2019ve seen a decrease in the species\u2019 population due to health reasons, but they\u2019re hoping it will rise once again due to new lambs. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re suffering from pneumonia, and it is something that they\u2019re susceptible to,\u201d Kroening said. \u201cThey 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\u2019re counting lambs. They\u2019re extremely cute looking this time of year, little fluff balls, and that\u2019s probably one of my highlights is getting to see some of those… But, that also means we\u2019re getting recruitment into our population if we\u2019re seeing a good number of lambs… That population can help us see if it\u2019s growing, stable or declining.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Counting and observing bighorn sheep has become an annual tradition for one volunteer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been doing the sheep count for probably about 15 years,\u201d CPW Volunteer Nathan Kettner said. \u201cI got involved when I met a wildlife biologist, she\u2019s still here today too, and so it\u2019s 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\u2019s what I live to do, so I always love doing this. It\u2019s great to meet other hunters and all the wildlife biologists… When you\u2019re up on the mountain, it\u2019s just peaceful. It\u2019s quiet, usually. And, you get to see wildlife, which is always exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
CPW said Wednesday\u2019s count was the first of two planned for the year.<\/p>\n
Bighorn sheep counts took place on Pikes Peak Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
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