No. 82 Summer 2015
Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Bighorn Sheep Count By Bud Getty
Photo: GaryFregien
In honor of the Bighorn Sheep Count’s 45th anniversary, ABF invited retired Park Superintendent (1972–1981) and longtime sheep counter Maurice (Bud) Getty to tell us about his experiences participating over the years. Bud was involved in the early years of the sheep count and has volunteered as a counter every year but one. That’s 44 years! In 1971, his first year of the count, 121 sheep were observed at 14 sites and last year, 2014, 265 sheep were spotted at 19 sites. There have been ups and downs in the years between, with a high of 354 in 2009 and low of 107 in 1997. Congratulations to Bud, and here’s to 45 years of contributing to the data and protection of our Park’s iconic desert bighorn sheep. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s Bighorn Sheep Count is held over the blisteringly hot 4th of July weekend every year. Why is the count held in the desert during the very hottest time of the year? The most important reason is that when the desert heat is at its peak, the bighorn must come down from the dry mountaintops for water, and that is when they can be seen and counted. Even during the hottest period, they seem to need water only about every three days. Thus, the annual count lasts over a threeday weekend so that most of the sheep would come down to water during that time period. The desert is also at its driest at this point in the summer. By the 4th of July, the small seeps and springs have gone dry in the desert heat. Later in the summer, predictable late July and August thunderstorms will replenish some of those smaller water sources. But in early July, it is hot enough to make the bighorn very thirsty, and the only available water is in the limited number of flowing streams, large springs, and year-round tinajas (natural basins in rocks). The sheep counters can stake out these water sources, knowing that the sheep will have to come to them.
The next question, of course, is why do we do it? My “non-sheepy” friends think that we are crazy to spend three days in the intense midsummer desert heat to count sheep. We get accused of going to the desert to party, drink beer and have fun. I’ve never heard any sheep counters say that the count is fun. Sitting in 110+ degree temperatures, suffering from the low humidity and the eye-burning sun glare, is not at all a delightful experience. And drinking beer could lead to a disaster. Alcohol would cause a drop in body fluids and could bring on life-threatening heat stroke. Instead, we each need at least a gallon of water just sitting still in the shade. Not an occasion to party! Every year we sit there, thinking how hot and miserable we are and wondering why we are doing this. Then a ewe and lamb appear across the way, cautiously making their way to water, and suddenly a big ram, his sides sunken in from dehydration, comes crashing down the hill. The sheep drink heavily, and we see the ram’s sides fill out with life-giving water. And that is why we are there — for those moments. continued on page 4