The State - News from March 23, 1986

A new herd of rare bighorn sheep on the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park has lost six of 27 sheep, wildlife biologists said. Despite the deaths, the remaining 21 sheep have been grazing in two groups in a snow-free section of a canyon and appear to be doing well, Inyo National Forest biologist Tina Hargis said. The sheep were separated from a larger herd on Mt. Baxter south of Bishop in an attempt to diversify the species. Recognizable by the male’s curled horns, the majestic sheep once ranged along much of the eastern Sierra Nevada between Lake Tahoe and the Mojave Desert. Hunting, disease transmitted by domestic sheep, forage destruction and loss of habitat caused by development led to their demise, and Yosemite declared the sheep extinct in the park in 1914.