Bighorn Sheep

The bighorn sheep is a wild sheep species native to the mountains and rugged terrain of western North America, named for the massive curled horns of mature rams, which can weigh more than all the bones in the rest of the animal's body combined and are used in powerful head-butting contests during the breeding season that can be heard echoing across canyons. Bighorn sheep are exceptionally sure-footed, able to navigate steep, rocky cliffs and narrow ledges with specialized hooves that grip uneven surfaces, habitat that offers protection from many predators. They graze and browse on a range of mountain grasses and shrubs, moving seasonally between high summer ranges and lower, more sheltered winter ranges. Once greatly reduced by overhunting and disease from domestic sheep, bighorn populations have recovered substantially through conservation efforts, and the species is classified as being of least concern.