Midday photographs make the Badlands National Park in South Dakota appear like barren moonscape. The subtle hues of the rock are lost in the glare of a high summer sun. That said, I think it creates a better sense of how impressive it is for Desert Bighorn Sheep to thrive in the arid wilderness.

Most of the year, the Desert Bighorn rams and ewes live in a separate flocks. These ewes and lambs were resting in the late afternoon on high ridges. A couple ewes wandered down to patches of shaded grass to graze.

As a photographer, I was frustrated at the tracking devices around the necks of some of the sheep. As a conservationist, I appreciate the devices.