{"id":972,"date":"2026-06-04T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=972"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:00:33","slug":"endangered-sheep-dies-after-getting-entangled-in-razor-wire-at-the-border-biologist-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=972","title":{"rendered":"Endangered sheep dies after getting entangled in razor wire at the border, biologist says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Peninsular bighorn sheep appears to have died after getting tangled in razor wire installed earlier this year on the California-Mexico border, realizing the fears of wildlife advocates that the security barrier would harm the endangered animals.<\/p>\n

Read more Bass clears first hurdle, but if Pratt holds off Raman, the mayoral race could be a holy war<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, Christina Aiello, a wildlife biologist with the Wildlands Network, a conservation group, came across the body of an adult male bighorn embedded in the wire while she was hiking in Imperial County\u2019s rugged Jacumba Wilderness.<\/p>\n

Photos and a video Aiello provided show bladed wire snaking around the decomposing animal\u2019s neck and curved horns, as well as the front legs, in a desert landscape dotted with boulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating and sad but at the same time expected,\u201d Aiello said shortly after her discovery. \u201cBecause we literally said that this was the risk, this was likely to happen, and our concerns were kind of ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting last fall, federal forces began stringing hundreds of miles of concertina wire along the border. President Trump has vowed to complete the border wall during his second term, and some conservationists have speculated the wire is being used as a placeholder before remaining gaps in the wall get filled in.<\/p>\n

It was \u201cpart of a necessary, strategic effort to bolster this security by discouraging and preventing illicit movement across this border,\u201d a spokesperson for the Joint Task Force-Southern Border, which provides military support to border operations, told The Times earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The wire\u2019s large coils and bulkiness makes it easier for people and animals to see, which \u201cacts as a better deterrent for people and helps prevent animals from accidentally running into the wire or misjudging a jump,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement. They added that the coils are rigid and don\u2019t sag over time like single-strand wires, \u201cwhich helps reduce the risk of accidental wildlife entanglement.\u201d <\/p>\n

Asked about the bighorn death, Becky Farmer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the Joint Task Force, said questions should be directed to the Department of Homeland Security because they directed the Department of Defense to install the wire. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an arm of Homeland Security, did not respond by time of publication.<\/p>\n

In early November, Edie Harmon, who has documented border wall activity in the Jacumba Wilderness since 2020, learned that Marines were stringing wire in an area called Skull Valley. Harmon alerted stakeholders, including Aiello, who was immediately concerned about how the wire might affect a herd of bighorn sheep that migrates across the border. <\/p>\n

The ewes give birth on the U.S. side in the winter and spring, then cross into Mexico to seek water in the punishing summer. Aiello, who focuses on protecting desert wildlife, fears they\u2019ll be blocked this year. Then there\u2019s the risk of entanglement. <\/p>\n

In January, Aiello submitted comments on behalf of more than two dozen organizations and individuals to Customs and Border Protection outlining these concerns and requesting measures to protect the sheep, including removing the wire and putting in openings in the wall large enough for the sheep to pass through.<\/p>\n

She said border officials rejected these ideas, but signaled tentative support for watering holes for bighorn, small wildlife passages in the wall and floodgates to be left open during storms. The passages won\u2019t be large enough for bighorn \u2014 with their broad horns \u2014 to squeeze through, advocates say. <\/p>\n

In January, a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection said it is \u201ccommitted to environmental stewardship,\u201d while meeting operational requirements, including physical barriers \u201calong all areas deemed necessary to ensure operational control of the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, once the face of Trump\u2019s deportation push, has a fondness for the sheep and advocated for adding a watering hole for them in the past, according to emails obtained by The Times.<\/p>\n

This spring, several temporary water sources were put in, an effort led by state and federal wildlife officials, according to Aiello, who helped out as a volunteer. They could be a lifeline for sheep that might get stuck on the U.S. side once the border wall is sealed.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Aiello has monitored GPS-collared sheep \u2014 less than 10% of the population \u2014 to see how they\u2019d respond to the razor wire. She has seen that some mill around when they encounter the wire, before turning around. Others crossed over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I was kind of prompted to go check it out,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m like, are they jumping over?\u201d<\/p>\n

So she hiked out to just beyond the Valley of the Moon trail, where the wire winds through piles of boulders. That\u2019s where she came across the dead bighorn ram. She didn\u2019t have a necropsy kit to do a detailed assessment, but noticed there wasn\u2019t much blood, which might indicate it had severe gashes and died from blood loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat seemed to me to be the case is that it was really trapped in there, and the exposure and dehydration probably eventually killed it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It appears to have died several weeks ago, and it\u2019s not clear if it tried to jump the wire or was simply grazing nearby, she said. It looked healthy and its strength \u201cmight have been its downfall,\u201d she added, \u201cAs it struggled, it probably got caught more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aiello expects more of its kind will suffer similar fates if nothing is done. She said her group has provided border officials with the locations of where bighorn typically cross, and believes the wire should be removed at least from those areas, if they\u2019re not willing to remove it all.<\/p>\n

Aiello believes the bollard fence planned for the area will be just as bad as wire over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take a while for those effects to unfold, whereas with the razor wire there\u2019s going to be immediate death,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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A biologist discovered a decomposing bighorn sheep tangled in concertina wire recently strung in Imperial County, part of an effort to deter illegal immigration. 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