The Crestone Eagle, July 2007:

Bighorn sheep—a symbol of power & agility
by Keno

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are one of two species of mountain sheep in North America (with the other species being Dall sheep (Ovis dalli), found mainly in Alaska and northwestern Canada); with the following being subspecies of the bighorn: Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is Colorado’s official state animal and is found mainly in the Rockies, with its range from around Alberta, Canada to northern Mexico, but they are also found as far west as California.

Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the males (known as rams). These impressive growths are a symbol of status and a weapon used in fighting other rams for dominance or mating rights. The rams will face each other, rear up on their hind legs, and hurl themselves at each other in charges reaching speeds up to 20 miles an hour. The resounding clash of horns can be heard echoing through the mountains as the confrontation is repeated, sometimes for many hours, until one ram submits and walks away. The animal’s thick, bony skull usually prevents serious injury, yet the animal’s horns can frequently exhibit damage from repeated clashes.

Females, or ewes, also have horns, but they are short with only a slight curvature. Ewes weigh up to 200 pounds and rams occasionally exceed 300 pounds. The rams’ horns can weigh up to 30 lbs, as much as the rest of the bones in the male’s body. They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the back of all four legs.

Bighorns are grazers. Their diet consists of grasses, sedges and forbs (flowering plants), though they will resort to eating twigs and woody plants when preferred foods are scarce. They are well adapted to climbing steep terrain where they seek cover from predators such as coyotes, bears, eagles, and mountain lions. They live in large herds, but they cannot be domesticated, because they do not follow a single leader ram, as the ancestors of the domestic sheep did and do.

Here in the Crestone area, it is estimated by the Division of Wildlife that there are 250 to 300 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the mountains directly to our east. These large animals are known for their agility and perfect sense of balance, and they usually like to stay above timberline and are known to climb as high as 13,000 plus feet. Yet don’t be at all surprised to see them on the edge of town, as in the winter months they are known to go as low as 8,000 feet looking for food, but they tend to stay away from people, so don’t expect to see them in your backyard, either.

Their mating season starts in October and continues through the winter. The bighorn male begins breeding at the age of four, when its neck becomes thicker and it starts competing for the females with its horns. Bighorn ewes usually produce one, but as many as three babies at one time, with the lambs being born in May. The lambs are then weaned in 4-6 months.

Their maximum life span is 16-18 years, but average about 7-8 years. Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to certain diseases carried by domestic sheep such as scabies and pneumonia; additional mortality occurs as a result of accidents involving rock falls or falling off cliffs (a hazard of living in steep, rugged terrain).

So the next time on a hiking trip up in our eastern mountains, don’t be at all surprised to see a few of these most interesting animals hanging out on a cliff over your head.

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