Figure 1. Bighorn Sheep Lambs, Badlands National Park.
While I've seen bighorn sheep in many places, Black Hills and Dakota Badlands are places on my wish list. On my May trip, I was blessed to see them in both places.
The original subspecies living in Black Hills and Dakota Badlands is Audubon Bighorn Sheep. Sadly they went extinct due to hunting and other causes. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were later reintroduced into these areas and so visitors can see them today. Badlands National Park highlight my bighorn sheep watching during this trip. I even gave up the plan to visit Devils Tower because I wanted to spend more time watching them.
Late May is the lambing season and I have counted 12 lambs in this part, Pinnacles Overlook to be exact, of the park. Although the weather was not stable during the couple days, I can still sat in the car and watched them. Lambs are playful and fun to watch. You would be thrilled when seeing them bouncing up and down the rugged terrain.
This park becomes one of my favorite places to watch bighorn sheep after this trip. I wish I can come back and see them again soon.
