Mountain Sheep Management in Mexico

The management of wildlife resources in Mexico differs from the management of wildlife in the rest of North America. Our objective is to highlight the differences to illustrate how the management of desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis spp.) has been successful. A significantly greater economic value is attached to desert bighorn sheep in Mexico than to any other big game mammal. Wild sheep are the highest-priced sport-hunted big game mammal in Mexico and are in high international demand by big game hunters willing to pay exorbitant prices for hunting permits because of the rarity of desert bighorn sheep hunting opportunities. Also, Mexico has the highest population of desert bighorn sheep in North America. Because it is a native desert-adapted large herbivore, desert bighorn sheep can be considered a potential flagship species for arid mountainous ecosystems within its distribution in northern Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula. Desert bighorn sheep are a charismatic and economically valuable species that promote a behavioral awareness of the ecological and conservation values of wildlife and inspire the development of a social responsibility to manage wildlife resources and their habitats sustainably. A change in environmental awareness among community members within protected and surrounding areas involves obviating social ineffectiveness and creating changes in the values, attitudes, and behaviors that are vital to successful communal natural resources management programs. Wildlife managers in Mexico have pioneered extensive captive bighorn sheep breeding programs in North America. Captive-bred sheep have been used in restoring desert bighorn sheep populations in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila where they had been extirpated. The number of desert bighorn sheep has increased significantly because of the establishment of additional wild populations, supplementation of existing populations, and successful captive-breeding programs. Mexico is the only country in the world that prioritizes a combined mountain sheep captive-breeding and free-ranging population management strategy, a management policy that has had great success.