Chester Moore Jr.
Articles by Chester Moore Jr.
-
COVID-19 and the wild sheep decline: An interesting parallel
Monday, March 30, 2020The impact of COVID-19 on humanity is nothing short of historic. While the death toll has not and hopefully will not reach the levels of the Spanish flu of 1918, the potential is there, and the grip it has on government, commerce, and private citizens is unprecedented. That’s why I can’t help but make parallels between COVID-19 and the near-catastrophic decline of wild sheep of the 1800s.
-
Sheep Show highlights hope
Friday, January 31, 2020From Jan. 15-17, thousands of sheep enthusiasts gathered in Reno, Nevada, at the annual Sheep Show hosted by the Wild Sheep Foundation. It was my first time attending and I came both as a fan of wild sheep and as a wildlife journalist wanting to get the story on what makes this group of people tick. The fan was satisfied as soon as I walked through the doors of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Anyone into wild sheep would be impressed with the incredible wild sheep taxidermy displays and hundreds of booths ranging from outfitters specializing in argali hunts in Tajikistan to Colorado’s grassroots Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society.
-
Death of a blacktail
Monday, December 02, 2019The Sacramento River in Northern California is magnificent. With cool waters running from the Klamath Mountains in the shadow of magnificent Mount Shasta, it flows over smooth, gray stones along wooded shorelines. As I made my way up a game trail leading from the main river, a shocking scene unfolded before me. Lying on the edge of the trail was a massive, dead blacktail buck. With antlers that would make any hunter proud, it was evident this buck had died within the last 24-36 hours.
-
New life for New Mexico’s bighorns
Friday, November 08, 2019If looks could kill I would have been a dead man. The ewe fixated on me with a focused intensity. It was obvious she knew I was a stranger in her rocky domain, and I suspected her to bolt at any time. But as clacking sounded from the rocks below, she broke the stare and looked down. Up came her baby, a gorgeous Rocky Mountain bighorn born this spring and already masterfully moving up through this gorgeous and treacherous gorge.
-
Bison on the mountain
Monday, October 21, 2019The unmistakable silhouette of a bull bison caught my attention. Enshrouded in a rainy mist, the curving horns, broad shoulders and massive hump were a perfect picture of nature’s strength. Seeing bison at Yellowstone National Park was not surprising. After all, it is the epicenter of their remaining wild range. Seeing one near a mountain’s peak at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, however, was not expected.
-
World Mountain Ungulates Conference shows concerns, hope
Monday, September 23, 2019"What the heck is a mountain ungulate?" An Instagram follower asked this after I posted about attending the 7th World Mountain Ungulates Conference in Bozeman, Montana. It is a good question. Ungulate, after all, is sort of a strange word. The quick explanation is an ungulate is an animal with hooves and a “mountain ungulate” is any of the variety of sheep, goats, deer and antelope that inhabit the hills and highlands of the world.
-
Texas’ bighorn license plate boosts more than funding
Monday, June 10, 2019The desert bighorn sheep is now officially a celebrity in Texas. A new conservation license plate features a stunning bighorn image. Those who purchase it for $30 get the satisfaction of knowing $22 goes directly to sheep conservation efforts of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The new plate design is a first for TPWD. "Our longtime plate artist, Clemente Guzman, retired, so we decided to use a photograph of a majestic bighorn sheep proudly looking into the desert — and perhaps its future," said Janis Johnson with the TPWD Conservation License Plate program.