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I've traveled to California's Inyo National Forest, about to meet the Wildlife Conservation Team who monitors and protects endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.
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We monitor the mortality factors, whether it's severe winters, disease or predation on the population.
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These are not your typical sheep.
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They're agile athletes who survive in the most extreme environments, and in order to keep track of their health, extreme efforts must be taken to capture and survey them.
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Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom first highlighted the amazing conservation story of bighorn sheep in the mid 1970s.
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This relocation project proves that game animals can be preserved and their range expanded.
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50 years later, we're still using helicopters to capture and assess sheep.
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In fact, it was Wild Kingdom that inspired the expert helicopter pilot leading the mission today.
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I watched Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom every Sunday night.
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They used helicopters a lot.
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And I always want to be a helicopter pilot, you know, And I always thought maybe someday I could work with wildlife, if I could combine that, you know, that's pretty much the ultimate job.
1:30
The only way to monitor bighorn sheep is by capturing them with a helicopter.
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Jim's going to show me what it takes to save these animals from up in the air.
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I have a lot of respect.
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I've personally never been up in a helicopter before.
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So what you all do is just, it's amazing.
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Well, the backside of the Sierras is a very dangerous place to fly when it's windy.
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So we're going to go check the wind up there and see if we can get a round of capture going.
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So if you'd like to go in a helicopter, this would be a good opportunity.
2:03
All right, well, who's got my helmet?
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After my stomach catches up with my body, I can appreciate the view.
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Oh my gosh, it's amazing that we're so hot.
2:21
Hi, this is so the wind where we are right now is fine.
2:28
That's what you're saying.
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But it's all about when you go higher and higher, correct?
2:33
And we're working the side of the mountain range, which is the most feature.
2:40
We're at the tools that get the sheep to the biologist.
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60% of the Sierra Bighorn sheep are over 12,500 feet.
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Working at those altitudes, you better be on your A game.
2:55
I'm feeling a lot of wind here, huh?
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It's still workable for us.
3:05
The wind conditions are workable and we've located a herd.
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Now it's time for the capture team to do their job.
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Jim leads a fearless crew known as Muggers.
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They jump out of the helicopter and actually wrestle the animal to the ground, hobble them up, get the Nets out and they do all the tough, hard work.
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We're sent out with a general mission in this area they want to use and a ram.
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Once we locate the animal, the pilot will then move them into a spot that is safe to capture.
3:50
Hanging out of the helicopter.
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The mugger prepares to net the animal.
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Soon as that comes out, you have no more control over the situation.
4:05
Low level flying like this leaves no room for error, but it's also critical to the safe handling of these animals.
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A lot of people won't even land at 12,000 feet.
4:16
We're up there working and maneuvering, putting people out, putting sheep in and actually working at those altitudes after they're caught.
4:28
These animals are delivered to the team of biologists waiting at the camp, started far in the distance for the helicopter's bright red.
4:39
We could see it getting closer and closer with four little bundles hanging off the bottom, almost like Jingle Bells, right?
4:47
Hanging off with four bighorn sheep.
