Bighorn lamb born at The Living Desert

Zookeepers are welcoming a female lamb that was born at The Living Desert on Friday. Zoo officials said the baby lamb weighed 3.9 kilograms at birth and both she and her mother are doing well.

“We are thrilled with the birth of this Bighorn lamb, as they are native to our area and play an important, iconic role in our desert habitat,” said Allen Monroe, President/CEO of The Living Desert. “The Living Desert participates with other zoos from around the country in the Bighorn Sheep Species Survival Plan (SSP) and we are proud of our participation in the efforts to preserve this endangered species.”

According to officials, the lamb’s father is five-year old Dante who sired seven lambs at the San Diego Wild Animal Park prior to arriving at The Living Desert in the summer of 2014. The mother, Margo, is almost eight years old and also came to The Living Desert from the San Diego Wild Animal Park in 2009.

Zookeepers said Bighorn lambs are born with soft, woolly, light-colored coats and small hornbuds. Within a day, a lamb can walk and climb as well as its mother. A lamb will stay with its mother for the first year of its life.

Bighorn sheep are one of two species of mountain sheep in North America. They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark brown, and have a white rump and lining on the backs of all four legs. Bighorn sheep get their name from the large, curved horns on the males, or rams, according to the zoo’s release. They are legendary for their ability to climb high, steep, rocky mountain areas.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were between 1.5 million to two million Bighorn sheep in North America. Today, there are less than 70,000, zookeepers said.

The new lamb is currently on exhibit with the herd at The Living Desert, which is open daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information call (760) 346-5694 or visit livingeesert.org.