- Bighorn sheep can be found on South facing slopes in the winter.
- There are three subspecies of bighorn sheep. The Rocky Mountain Bighorn, The Sierra Nevada Bighorn, and the Desert Bighorn sheep.
- A group of bighorns is called a herd.
- There are less than 70,000 bighorn sheep in North America.
- Herds of bighorns live with up to 15 ewes, lambs, yearlings, and two-year old’s.
- In the winter, herds of ewes join up to make herds up to 100.
- Male herds number between two and five.
- Male bighorns can charge each other at over 20mph.
- The battles between males can last for over 24 hours.
- The crash of two male bighorns butting horns can be heard over a mile away.
- For 101 facts on moose, click here.
- Bighorn sheep only have one lamb; they rarely may have two.
- Lambs take 5-6 months to gestate.
- Predators of the bighorn include Coyotes, Wolves, Mountain Lions, and bobcats.
- Their hooves are suited to their environment, with split hooves to help them balance and rough hoof bottoms to grip.
- Female ewes are more minor than male rams.
- Ever wondered why sheep baa? Check out my article explaining this here.
- Ewes have shorter horns than males with a little curve.
- Horns can weigh over 30 pounds.
- Ewes outlive Rams, living up to 14 years compared to a maximum of 12 years.
If you have wondered how bighorn sheep adapt to their environment, I have written an article you may find fascinating here.
- The bighorn is named for its horns.
- The Ram’s horns can reach lengths of over 3.3 feet.
- Males can weigh up to 450 pounds, whereas ewes are up to a maximum of 188 pounds.
- Bighorns range in color from chocolate brown to light brown or even gray but have a white rump on the backs of all four legs.
- To stop brain damage from the rutting, the sheep have internal bony septa, enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses, and large horn cores.
- Horns tell the age of a ram.
- As herbivores, they eat grasses, leaves, herbs, shrubs, and twigs.
- Sheep will sometimes be seen licking salt, including the salt on the road, due to winter road treatment. Bighorns swallow their food, regurgitate it later, and chew it up more before digesting it.
- The butting of horns is done for mating rights between sheep.
- Lambs are born in Spring from April to June.
Do you know where bighorn sheep live? You may be surprised
- Horns can grow up to 15 inches in circumference.
- Lambs are hidden after birth on high, narrow, rocky ledges to stop predators from reaching them.
- Bighorns can stand on ledges 2 inches wide.
- Bighorn sheep are muscular and lean due to the amount of climbing.
- They can jump across 6-meter gaps between cliffs.
- To reduce the steepness of a cliff, the bighorn climbs in a Z shape.
- Bighorns like to be at 8,000 feet above sea level.
- The horns can weigh more than the skeleton of the sheep.
- For 101 facts on armadillos, click here.
- They can spot predators from a mile away.
- Bighorns can drink up to 20% of their body weight when finding a good water source.
- The scientific name is Ovis Canadensis.
- They are listed as a minor concern in the IUCN red list.
- Bighorn sheep live on mountain slopes, foothills, rocky hills, and alpine meadows.
- Desert bighorn will often eat cacti and holly.
- They have a four-part stomach enabling them to eat large portions to regurgitate later.
- During digestion, the sheep absorb moisture, leaving them without water for longer.
- Between two and four years of age, males leave their mother’s group for their group of rams.
- Young male bighorns sometimes join other species out of loneliness when looking for a group.
- Male dominancy is based on age and size, with males under seven mating only if older rams in their group are killed.
- Sheep herds protect themselves by facing different directions to watch their surroundings.
- Taxes do not pay for sheep conservation and reintroduction. The money comes from the purchase of hunting licenses and tags.
- Arizona has two bighorn game ranges: the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
- Bighorn sheep were a source of clothing, food, and tools for the tribes in the mountainous regions of the West.
- For 101 facts on grizzly bears, click here.
- Young females remain in their mother’s group for life.
- Golden eagles will sometimes eat the lambs.
- Rams and ewes use their horns to fight and eat.
- They have a wide arc of exceptional vision due to wide-set eyes.
- The bighorn has excellent hearing and a sense of smell to avoid predators.
- Bighorn sheep are relatives of goats.
- Ewes horns never exceed half a curl.
- Bighorns have a 9-stage digestive process to ensure that the removal of nutrients is maximized.
- Bighorns have double-layered skulls with struts of bone to protect them.
- Ewes nurse the young for four to 6 weeks.
- For 101 facts on blue whales, click here.
- A week after being born, lambs can confidently follow their mothers over rocky terrain.
- Several weeks after birth, lambs form groups of their own, going to their mothers to drink milk.
- Ewes usually do not breed until their second or third year.
- There are approximately 70,000 bighorn sheep in North America.
- There are 15,700 bighorn sheep in Canada.
- There are 42,700 bighorn sheep in the U.S.
- There are 4,500 bighorn sheep in Mexico.
- During summer, the sheep will drink at waterholes much less frequently, at least once every three days.
- Bighorns find it hard to walk in the snow and move to areas with less snow in winter.
- Desert Bighorns pant and sweat during the summer months to cool their bodies.
- Bighorn sheep do not shed their horns, unlike deer and elk.
- For 101 facts on polar bears, click here.
- The horns are made of keratin, the same material fingernails and hooves are made of.
- For each year that passes, a ring on the horn grows. These are called “annuli rings.”
- The rings on the horn are created when under stress, such as rutting or mating rituals due to poor nutrition.
- They can spot other animals moving at distances of a mile away.
- Home ranges are large, averaging 17 sq km.
- The birth weight of a lamb is between 8-10 lbs.
- The desert bighorn can go without drinking for 5 to 15 days.
- The desert bighorn is known by its regional names: Arizona and Mexican.
- The mountain bighorn is a common term for both Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada bighorn.
- The daily food intake of a bighorn sheep can be up to 3 pounds.
- Desert bighorn sheep can be found within 3-5 km of a water source during summer.
- The bighorn is part of the Bovidae family, including bison, cattle, goats, and other sheep.
- The force of two rams butting horns generates forces sixty times greater than that needed to crack a human skull.
- Bighorn sheep can go up a mountain at 24 km/h.
- Mountain goats are the only better mountain climbers.
- For 101 facts on wolverines, click here.
- The mating system, the rut, occurs in Autumn.
- Rams can be 3 ½ feet tall. Ewes are smaller.
- The sheep are not typically aggressive but have been attacked by humans, although these are rare.
- Bighorns can charge as fast as 64 km/h.
- At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were between 1.5 million to two million bighorn sheep in North America.
- By the 1920s, bighorn sheep were eliminated from Washington, Oregon, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Mexico.
- For 101 facts on jaguars, click here.
- During the rut, bighorn rams will snort loudly. The lambs bleat, and the ewes respond with a guttural “baa.” They also utter throaty rumbles or “blows” in fright.
- Rams are up to 6 feet long. Ewes are smaller.
- Young lambs learn a migratory route by following an older group member in winter.
- Rams but head for dominance in the rutting season.
- The Dall’s sheep or thinhorn live in Alaska and Western Canada and are related to the bighorn.
- Colorado is home to the largest population of bighorns.
- Brooming is the term used to describe the chipping of horns, usually from fighting.
If you have wondered how bighorn sheep adapt to their environment, I have written an article you may find fascinating here.
Bryan Harding is a member of the American Society of Mammalogists and a member of the American Birding Association. Bryan is especially fond of mammals and has studied and worked with them around the world. Bryan serves as owner, writer, and publisher of North American Nature.