The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has released the results of 2022's bighorn sheep survey in which it was discovered that the state is seeing record growth in the population, even when compared to a previous record-breaking year beforehand.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2021 bighorn sheep survey, completed by recounting lambs in March, revealed a record 335 bighorn sheep in western North Dakota, up 4% from 2020 and 15% above the five-year average. The count surpassed the previous record of 322 bighorns in 2020. Altogether, biologists counted 99 rams, 175 ewes and 61 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.