Why is the Kofa Mountains Complex bighorn herd so important?
A6 At its historic average of approximately 800 animals, the Kofa mountains complex herd represents the largest population of this subspecies in the United States. Bighorn from the Kofa have been a critical source of animals for the reestablishment and maintenance of bighorn populations across Arizona and throughout the southwestern United States, to include New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas. The first successful transplant in 1957 moved Kofa bighorns to the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Texas, an area from which bighorn had been exterminated, but that now boasts a healthy herd. The last translocation of sheep from the Kofa was in 2005 when 30 sheep were captured and transported to the San Andres Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico as part of the effort to restore that refuge’s bighorn herd.
