Exotic Big Game in New Mexico

The oryx wasn't the only exotic species brought to New Mexico by the state Game and Fish Department, but it is the largest. These African natives were introduced in the 60's and 70's for hunting opportunities, in a move that flies in the face of modern conservation practices. As a Steemer https://steemit.com/@anzha just pointed out to me, these gazelles have to be seen in person to realize just how large they are. They average 450 lbs and 4 ft high at the shoulder, making them much more dangerous then a deer for a vehicle speeding down New Mexico's empty highways. (Not that @anzha was speeding, haha!) In addition, they sport a pair of impressive horns that can reach over 3 feet long, both male and female. Their markings make them quite difficult to spot among the desert vegetation, making them an even bigger threat to drivers. At this point they are only in and around the White Sands Missile Range, but this is a huge area.

Oryx

Officials also released Ibex, a wild Asian goat, to the Florida Mountains about 2 hours west of El Paso, Texas. These animals were introduced around 1970, and have successfully colonized the small range and surrounding lands in far southern New Mexico. While they might be a better size match for a mountain lion or the extremely rare jaguar that is trying to make a comeback in the area, ibex are still only primarily hunted by people, and their range continues to grow much like the oryx. Iranian ibex were also brought in to the Canadian River canyon area, with successful hunts occurring throughout the 70's. This larger ibex species was not able to really take hold of the area , and disappeared several decades ago.
Ibex

African Barbary sheep are a third exotic species that was introduced by state officials in this time period, near Picacho between White Sands and Roswell, and the site of one of New Mexico's few Civil War battles. These animals also proved to be well selected for their intended homes, as they have also now increased in number and are pushing their original bounds. The sheep are quite hardy and thrive in really remote and hard-to-reach spots. However, we now know that Barbary Sheep can disrupt the breeding cycle of desert bighorn sheep. The Game and Fish department has been working on transplanting bighorn to the Sacramento Mountains, where the species historically lived. However, the spread of the Barbary sheep into the area is causing delays. There is now year-round unlimited hunting allowed for Barbarys in that area to remedy this.

Barbary Sheep

The greater kudu was also considered as a good candidate for transplant to New Mexico, but they ended up being devastated by domestic cattle diseases, and were not released.

Kudu