Bighorn Sheep

There are three subspecies of the Bighorn Sheep: the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, the Desert Bighorn Sheep, and the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep also named California Bighorn Sheep. The taxonomy of the species is modified according to the genetic data available. Some populations of the Bighorn Sheep are extinct, like the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.

Bighorn Sheep live in areas where they are safe from most predators: high in the mountains and in the desert. They are adapted to severe conditions and lack of food and water. They can thrive on dew and rainwater and consume a variety of plant matter that is available. Bighorn Sheep are sure-footed on steep slopes and have keen eyesight. In the wild, these animals live about 10 years, with the extreme lifespan recorded over 19 years.

The hallmark of the Bighorn Sheep is large horns. Both sexes develop horns since early age, but males have massive and curved horns, while females have smaller and straight horns. The age of the animal can be determined through horn rings. Dominant males have horns over 3 feet in length. They use them for fighting. Combats between males sometimes last as long as 25 hours. Only the strongest males have a right to breed, thus improving the gene pool of the population. Dominant males lead a group of several females and defend them from other males. Young males don’t have an opportunity to mate till they are 7 or 8 years old.

Like many animals of the pristine times, Bighorn Sheep came to North America from Asia through the Bering land bridge. About 600,000 years ago, they formed a distinct species by diverging genetically from their ancestors. Nowadays, these sheep range from southern Canada to Mexico. For centuries, Bighorn Sheep were common throughout their range, but since the 1850s, their population decreased to the one-tenth the population that existed in the early 19th century. European settlers that began exploring remote areas of the Wild West hunted these animals in large numbers for their meat, hides, and just for sport. Nowadays, hunting Bighorn Sheep is possible in some areas under a license only.