Bighorn Sheep

 

One of the most common sightings while hiking in the Rocky Mountains are the Bighorn Sheep. It’s pretty cool encountering them while hiking along the snowline at higher elevations.

The bighorn sheep is the larger, wild relative of the domesticated sheep. Males are called "rams" and have long spiral horns, while females, called "ewes", have shorter, spike-like horns.

The coat is short, coarse and typically brown with white areas on the muzzle, the back of the legs and around the rump. Once a year, the sheep will shed its hair to reveal a new coat underneath.

The bighorn sheep's most important asset is its hoofs. The front hoofs are slightly larger than the hind. Each hoof has a hard rim on the outer edge with a soft, concave area in the middle, which gives the sheep excellent traction on steep, rocky terrain.

Bighorn sheep are social animals and live in groups of anywhere from 10 to 100 sheep. They generally live separately in groups of rams and ewes, but mingle in the fall during the mating season.

The bighorn sheep grazes on grasses and vegetation that is available in its rugged habitat on mountain slopes.