Badlands National Park Wants to Know: How Many Sheep Do You See?

Even though you may be cutting back on your travel plans during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can still travel to Western South Dakota online to take part in a little brain teaser, courtesy of the folks at Badlands National Park.

The 100 square mile wilderness area is home to a number of wildlife species including badger, bison, black-billed magpie, black-footed ferret, black-tailed prairie dog, bobcat, coyote, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, prairie rattlesnake, porcupine, swift fox, and white-tailed deer. But it's a group of bighorn sheep in the Badlands that are getting some attention for their ability to blend in.

Earlier this month, the Badlands National Park official Facebook page issued this challenge to their followers:

At last count, 128 people had commented on the photo with a combination of guesses and hints for those people who were coming up short in their count.

According to the National Park Service, the Badlands are home to about 250 of the approximately 80,000 bighorn sheep that live in the United States. The first sheep arrived at the park back in 1964.

The area was designated as Badlands National Monument by President Calvin Coolidge. It was renamed Badlands National Park in 1978.