Submitted Photo The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs, revealed a record 347 bighorn sheep in the grasslands of western North Dakota. Photo from NDGF.

Two of the most popular species with hunting seasons include harvest numbers you can count on your hands or hands and toes. I’m talking about mountain lions and bighorn sheep.

These two unique species capture the interest of hunters and non-hunters alike. While over 20,000 applications were received for the half dozen bighorn sheep tags, mountain lion hunting is open to individuals with a furbearer tag but limited to one per season.

Depending on the year, more than a dozen or so mountain lions may be taken within the constraints of the seasons and units in a given year.

Information on bighorn sheep is easier to gather than on a secretive predator population of mountain lions. Here’s a look at North Dakota bighorn sheep.

The Game and Fish Department’s bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs, revealed a record 347 bighorn sheep in the grasslands of western North Dakota, up 4% from last year and 15% above the five-year average. Big game biologists were pleased to see an increase in the survey for the fifth consecutive year. The count surpassed the previous record of 335 bighorns in 2021.

Altogether, biologists counted 96 rams, 206 ewes and 45 lambs. Not included are approximately 40 bighorn sheep in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and bighorns introduced to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in 2020.

The northern badlands population increased 4% from 2021 and was the highest count on record. The southern badlands population was unchanged at the lowest level since bighorns were reintroduced there in 1966.

Biologists noted they were encouraged to see the count of adult rams down just slightly from last year, and adult ewes were at record numbers. Unfortunately, following a record summer count of lambs, winter survival was only 54%, the lowest level on record and well below the long-term average. The lamb recruitment rate was also near a record low. Nearly six months of harsh winter conditions was the likely cause of poor winter survival of lambs.

Department biologists count and classify all bighorn sheep in late summer, and then recount lambs the following March as they approach 1 year of age to determine recruitment.

Department staff, in conjunction with biologists from the Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Division, also reported the bighorn sheep translocated in January 2020 from Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana to the Fort Berthold Reservation performed exceptionally well their third year in the state, as the population has nearly tripled.

There are currently about 470 bighorn sheep in the populations managed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, National Park Service and the Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Division. The next benchmark is 500 bighorns in the state, which seemed improbable just a few years ago.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department allocated six bighorn sheep licenses for the 2023 hunting season, one more than last year.

One license was issued in unit B1, one in B3, two in B4 and one in B5. In addition, one license, as authorized under North Dakota Century Code, was auctioned in May by the Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, from which all proceeds are used to enhance bighorn sheep management in North Dakota.

A record 20,290 applicants applied for bighorn sheep. Again an example of how one of the most limited hunting resources continues to generate high interest.