This Bighorn Sheep Was Stuck in Ice on the Colorado River — Then, Rescuers Stepped In
On Monday, January 26, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers Codi Prior and Clayton BonDurant received a call they couldn’t ignore. A passer-by had dialed a call at the Three Rivers Resort to inform them that a bighorn sheep was stuck in the icy river. Without wasting any time, Prior and BonDurant jumped in their truck and reached the location. In the rugged terrain of Colorado’s Western Slope, bordered by towering alpines, grassy canyon walls, and boulder clusters, the muscular chocolate-brown bighorn was embedded in an icy hole in the Taylor River. The poor sheep was shivering with cold and fright. After attempting an arsenal of different strategies, the district wildlife managers pulled her out of the trenches of death, according to an account CPW’s Information Officer John Livingston shared with PEOPLE.
The river courses through Colorado’s Gunnison National Forest near Crystal Peak. Every day, dozens of animals, including the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, visit the river’s edge to drink water. At this time of the year, when everything is enshrouded in a blanket of snow, these animals gravitate from the lower, spring-green south-facing slopes towards the higher alpine meadows and plateaus to scour food, especially near the mineral licks. Getting lost or stuck at this time leaves the animal with a bare minimum chance of surviving. This female, thankfully, had a lucky day.
The rescue was not straightforward, the officers said. Since the bighorn was stuck in the ice “half in/half out of the river,” they had to try several methods before one worked. At first, they tried using a catch pole over the ewe’s head and body but couldn’t get it underneath her front legs, which were clinging to the ice like chocolate ice cream sticks in a freezer. A picture shared by CPW shows the female lodged in the icy river. Surrounding her is a stretch of flaky, icy field bathed in golden sunlight and clusters of bushes.
When the pole approach didn’t work, the officers used a tow strap and a little bit of engineering to pull her out of the icy hole and lay her on dry land. Officers said they were able to pull her out “fairly quickly,” though she struggled to stay upright in the first few moments of the rescue. Once she got out, they put an orange mask over her eyes to prevent overstimulation, provide some warmth, and reduce stress. Then, they hauled her in a horse trailer and transported her to a warmer location to prevent hypothermia.
Footage shows the officers standing in an icy field releasing the bighorn into the wild. As they liberate her, the animal leaps out of the truck and gallops towards a snow-dusted sagebrush field to her mountain above the river, where she reunites with the rest of the herd. The sky was clear and blue, and the bighorn was in "excellent health." Livingston recalled that she left everyone surprised by “just how good she looked” when she ran off after being released.
Praising the animal’s resilience, he remarked that most animals wouldn’t have survived the stress of this ordeal and the prolonged exposure to the freezing cold water, that too in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, which have some of the world’s harshest climate conditions. Thanks to CPW’s vigil and quick-thinking officers, this one got a narrow escape from getting swallowed by the ice. CPW credits its officers who helped pull her out. “Nature is brutal, but this bighorn is getting a second chance at life thanks to this epic rescue by our team."
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