Mistaken identity is actually a problem, as far as I understand. I've been told that's why you're not allowed to kill Aoudad on drawn hunts out in West Texas mule deer range. For example, Big Bend mule deer.

I'm not sure how much I believe getting a ram confused, but a ewe or a juvenile maybe.

As far as the numbers, I'm sure it's hard to estimate. I pulled the summer 2023 bighorn society magazine where they had a writeup from Froylan Hernandez, program leader for TPWD.

In july/August 2023 they did aerial surveys on 5 sites from Hueco Mountains to Elephant mountain and observed 1134 Aoudad, killing 505 with aerial gunning and tissue sampling.

The last numbers I saw and I believe it was earlier this year, was around 79k animals. I have personally seen over 100 in one day - actually in about an hour span - in the hill country. They're a much bigger problem than most people want to admit but they make a lot of landowners money…

Found article and it was 75k in North America, of which I am sure 90% are TX and 9% are NM with 1% maybe elsewhere.

Quote:

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Now, more than 75,000 aoudads exist in North America, while the species' wild population in North Africa is at high risk for extinction existing of between 5,000 to 10,000 individuals.

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https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/environment/2023/02/26/how-an-african-sheep-species-found-home-on-the-high-plains/69940456007/

I wonder if part of the delta between 80k and 20k is free range vs high fenced private herds.

Could be

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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The last numbers I saw and I believe it was earlier this year, was around 79k animals. I have personally seen over 100 in one day - actually in about an hour span - in the hill country. They're a much bigger problem than most people want to admit but they make a lot of landowners money…

Found article and it was 75k in North America, of which I am sure 90% are TX and 9% are NM with 1% maybe elsewhere.

Quote:

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Now, more than 75,000 aoudads exist in North America, while the species' wild population in North Africa is at high risk for extinction existing of between 5,000 to 10,000 individuals.

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https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/environment/2023/02/26/how-an-african-sheep-species-found-home-on-the-high-plains/69940456007/

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Wow what a bunch of fake news… OP says there's 1,000,000 in just Texas. Whoever said it's only 75k in NA is clearly a moron.

There's closer to 1,000,000 in Texas than 20,000

there are free range audad in approximately 30ish counties in texas which is a little over 10% of the state(254 counties total). If there are a million audad in the state that would mean there are close to 30-40 per square mile throughout the entire areas of all of those counties.

An estimated 8,000 aoudad reside in the ecologically fragile 317,000 acre Chinati Mountain range where they compete for food and water and degrade habitat that is home to bighorns, mule deer, etc.

Yet there are landowners who want the aoudad around because of the money to be made for selling ram hunts.

CivilEng08 said:

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Mistaken identity is actually a problem, as far as I understand. I've been told that's why you're not allowed to kill Aoudad on drawn hunts out in West Texas mule deer range. For example, Big Bend mule deer.

I'm not sure how much I believe getting a ram confused, but a ewe or a juvenile maybe.

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Correct, aoudad are off limits on Trans Pecos mule deer draw hunts due to the potential for misidentification.

I did department released aoudad sheep, Lincoln index (helicopter tree marking paint ball pistol) census, $20/hour with Roger Evans from Lubbock for 2 years in palo duro canyon in middle 1960's, P R reports.

If an aerial MLDP survey in the Davis Mountain area tally was roughly 12 mature mule deer bucks, 16 elk and nearly 1000 Aoudad you might think 2,000,000 is low.

Unbelievable change in one year.

He's just saying your anecdotal assertion of there being more than 510,000 in TX is unfounded.

The Exotic Wildlife Association based in Kerrville is an organization that the majority of high fenced ranch landowners belong to.
When we had our place they would, about every couple of years or so, ask the membership to give a census on species type and number of each of exotics you had.
It was thought to be a fairly accurate assessment.
I no longer have the actual report but it was estimated that there was around 31,000 or so Aoudads under high fenced ranches of members of EWA in Texas in 2019….. if I remember correctly.
Due to their prolific nature, most ranches I dealt with, including ourselves, kept numbers pretty low. Keeping few Ewes compared to Rams numbers and killing off unwanted young Ewes and leaving the Rams.
On their first breeding ( when the ewes would become sexually mature) they would have just one kid. After that first breeding they typically have twins and sometimes triplets.
Most exotic high fence ranches that have many other species don't let their Aoudads herds get very large.
Typical in the hill country of a 1000 acre high fenced ranch will usually not have an Aoudad herd larger than 20 or so….which was about what we had. I'm sure there are ranches that keep more.
Not every exotic high fenced ranch landowner belongs to EWA so I'm sure the total in 2019 was higher than what EWA reported.