Phoenix Zoo welcomes bighorn lamb to Desert Lives Trail

PHOENIX — A new addition to the Phoenix Zoo is a desert bighorn lamb named Syrena, who can be seen by visitors along the Desert Lives Trail.

Syrena was born to her mother, Shawnee, and the two are doing well after the birth, the zoo said in a press release.

Her father, Captain Jack Sparrow, is wild ram caught from southern Arizona who fathered two lambs born in 2021.

The “ramily” lives in a habitat that includes natural buttes, near the Arabian oryxes.

The oryx family at the zoo grew this year, too, with a pair of calves born in February.

Desert bighorns live throughout the American Southwest, including the Grand Canyon and Sonoran Desert.

Males have large, curved horns while females grow shorter horns with a slight curve. Rams can grow up to 250 pounds, making it the heaviest native animal in Grand Canyon National Park.

The breeding period for desert bighorns is September-November, and calves are typically born in March-April, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.