Heinrich account mocked after tweeting 'elk were extinct in New Mexico' with picture of a sheep

Feb. 7—A social media post may have left Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich feeling sheepish over the weekend.

A tweet from one of Heinrich's two accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, said "elk were extinct in New Mexico" just a little over a century ago.

However, the tweet included a photo of Heinrich standing on a mountainside below a bighorn sheep.

"Thanks to the work of previous generations of conservationists, I now have the privilege of interacting with this beautiful and amazing animal," stated the tweet from New Mexico's senior senator.

Posted at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, it came from Heinrich's @MartinHeinrich political account, which has a significantly smaller following than his official @SenatorHeinrich account.

Still, it garnered more than 26,100 views before it was deleted a few hours later.

Although it was taken down within a matter of hours, the tweet spread like wildfire.

The following afternoon, another tweet from the same account addressed the gaffe.

"Sometimes you send your team a bunch of photos at once and they get jumbled up," stated the tweet. "So, let's try this again."

That tweet includes two photos: The first shows Heinrich sitting on a mountainside behind an impressive felled elk. The second shows Heinrich standing below a bighorn sheep on a ridge.

"1: Elk," the tweet states. "2: Bighorn Sheep (not an elk)"

Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Heinrich's reelection campaign texted a link to the follow-up tweet, which went on to state "both animals have made amazing recoveries in New Mexico thanks to the work of conservationists."

The second tweet has garnered 19,000 views so far — and scores of snide remarks.

Multiple users took issue with Heinrich faulting his staff, especially because the original tweet implied he had written it.

"Yea Marty, let's blame the team," Ronnie Lucero, former national chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, wrote in the thread.

A Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham parody account chimed in, too.

"It's like watching a toddler try to juggle chainsaws — entertaining, yet utterly horrifying," @GovMLGParody wrote. "My colleague's incompetence is an affront to the very essence of dictatorship. Shape up, or I'll find someone who can at least pretend to know what they're doing!"

Even the Republican Party of New Mexico jumped into the fray with a GIF of the character Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch saying, "Sure, Jan."

A user with the handle @MrsGenX2 referred to Heinrich as "Maryland Marty."

Heinrich has a residence in Maryland.

"I call BS," the user wrote. "How is it Elon Musk sends his own tweets with a crew of thousands but you don't?!"

Others came to Heinrich's defense.

"Forget all the haters," wrote Alvin Garcia. "The work you do in Congress is admired and appreciated by many here in NM. Many Democrats love hunting too. Keep up the good job."

Heinrich's tweets have resulted in a couple of memes, including one that replaces the bighorn sheep with a dinosaur.

State Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, got in on the action, too, posting a picture of himself standing in front a pigeon perched on a light post.

"A little over a century ago, the rare Lesser Mexican spotted jumping prairie chickens were extinct in New Mexico," Block wrote in the tweet. "Thanks to the work of previous conservationists, I now have the privilege of interacting with this amazing animal!"

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.