One of the most impressive conservation projects I’ve photographed each of the past six years is the capture of wild bighorn sheep. Watching a helicopter as it darts in and out of rugged terrain and arrive to the processing site with sheep tethered below does not get old. Neither does watching the team of wildlife professionals take samples, install tracking equipment and release the animals back to the wild.
With single-digit temperatures, this was the coldest bighorn sheep capture I’ve photographed. Despite the weather, the team persevered.
Here is some imagery that I captured Feb. 18-19 in the Wildcat Hills and the Pine Ridge.
As much as I enjoy photographing these captures, I hope that our Nebraska bighorn sheep herds will someday become healthy and resilient enough that such monitoring efforts will not seem necessary.
The post Northwestern Exposure, Feb. 21, 2019: Bringing in the Sheep appeared first on Nebraskaland Magazine.