{"id":22692,"date":"2025-10-29T13:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=22692"},"modified":"2025-10-29T13:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:20:09","slug":"moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/10\/29\/moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving sheep reduces risk, helps herds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct. 29, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORENCI, Ariz. \u2014 One of the world\u2019s most productive copper mines is also one of Arizona\u2019s most reliable sources of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. In a win-win for Arizona\u2019s sheep populations and the community of Morenci, Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) wildlife managers routinely move sheep from dangerous locations amid mining operations and local traffic to areas where they can have a positive impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese translocations are great because AZGFD is able to boost the numbers of wild Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and also lessen the hazard of vehicle collisions in the mine and nearby town,\u201d said Justin Winter, AZGFD terrestrial senior wildlife specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Watch out for sheep! Bighorns pose collision risk to local traffic, mining operations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The bighorns are not shy about entering Freeport-McMoRan\u2019s open-pit copper mining operation, but predators are \u2014 meaning there\u2019s no natural check on sheep population growth. Extra sheep create increased collision risk for mine workers and other drivers along U.S. Highway 191, but they also represent a healthy source population.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could almost consider the sheep living in the mine a nursery herd \u2013 it keeps growing sheep and we\u2019re able to utilize that population to increase numbers in the wild,\u201d Winter said. \u201cThe mine appreciates our translocation efforts too because each sheep we move is one less animal to pose a risk to workers and drivers.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two herds \u2014 the East Clear Creek just outside of Winslow and the South Fork by Greer \u2014 were both started with sheep translocated from the Morenci mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the most recent capture at the end of August, eight sheep were taken to the Upper Blue River Area where AZGFD biologists hope they will join the local bighorns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Blue River herd has been slow-growing and survey numbers have been low over the past five years,\u201d Winter said. \u201cIf these eight sheep from the mine stay in the area, they\u2019ll be a great addition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the sheep were fitted with tracking collars, which will give wildlife managers valuable location and behavior insights. <\/p>\n\n\n

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One young male sheep took a little side trip to New Mexico before rejoining the herd<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThese sheep will provide really good movement data,\u201d said Winter. \u201cWe\u2019ll be able to see which areas of the Upper Blue River they occupy and that\u2019ll help us refine our surveys and get a better understanding of what the population looks like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four of the collars were funded by donations from members of the public<\/a> who support AZGFD’s science-based wildlife conservation efforts. The collars will last about three years and utilize satellite-based GPS technology, giving biologists highly accurate and real-time data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with deploying the tracking collars, AZGFD\u2019s assistant state wildlife veterinarian joined the capture to provide health checks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Help Support Arizona’s Wildlife<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Morenci mine Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep gets a tracking collar and health check<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThey are a pretty healthy population,\u201d said Dr. Ann Fan, DVM. \u201c<\/strong>The one disease we worry the most about is bighorn sheep pneumonia (Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae). This population has been closely monitored and we\u2019ve never detected it – and thankfully, all eight of these sheep tested negative as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the eight sheep captured, seven were rams and just one was a ewe. Ideally, at least two more females would have been translocated, but AZGFD biologists do not capture ewes that are nursing or are still raising lambs. Fortunately, having the help of Freeport-McMoRan\u2019s security team and environmental division makes planning a return trip easy. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Teaming up with Freeport-McMoRan helps AZGFD quickly locate, capture sheep<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice having people who already know where the sheep are and can help us navigate the mine and its operations,\u201d Winter said. \u201cWe can just drive down and start our capture without spending hours looking for sheep.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newest members of the Blue River herd are settling in well and the partnership between AZGFD and Freeport-McMoRan is a great example of how Arizona\u2019s industry and wildlife conservation efforts can work together. That’s something Winter hopes will continue for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a great mutual benefit,\u201d Winter said. \u201cNot only does AZGFD get to help wild bighorn sheep boost their numbers and establish new populations, we\u2019re also helping solve safety issues for the mine and the town of Morenci. It\u2019s truly a win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AZGFD, Freeport-McMoRan team up to translocate bighorn sheep out of the mine and into the wild. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":22694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"\nMoving sheep reduces risk, helps herds - Arizona Game & Fish Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/10\/29\/moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moving sheep reduces risk, helps herds - Arizona Game & Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AZGFD, Freeport-McMoRan team up to translocate bighorn sheep out of the mine and into the wild.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/10\/29\/moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Game & Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T20:04:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T20:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/29124912\/Rocky-Mountain-Bighorn-Sheep_FEATURED-IMAGE_Website_360.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"agleich\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"agleich\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/10\/29\/moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/10\/29\/moving-sheep-reduces-risk-strengthens-herds\/\",\"name\":\"Moving sheep reduces risk, helps herds - 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