The Peninsular bighorn sheep, a race of desert bighorn, inhabit the Peninsular Mountain ranges from Palm Springs to Baja California, Mexico. They are found in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountain ranges. This population was once the largest population of desert bighorns in Southern California. There are now fewer than 400 in the U.S. portion of the range. A major cause of the decline is disease.
Stress appears to make bighorns susceptible to a variety of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.
Forest Service biologists and their colleagues in other agencies are working to reverse the decline by studying disease control, protecting habitat, reintroducing new sheep and studying habitats. All rights reserved.