Desert Bighorn Sheep
Ovis canadensis nelsoni
Summary 4
Desert bighorn sheep are stocky, heavy-bodied sheep, similar in size to mule deer. Thier color is from light to darker brown depending on the time of year. Weights of mature rams range from 115 to 280 pounds, while ewes are somewhat smaller. They have unique concave elastic hooves. Both genders develop horns soon after birth. Older rams have impressive sets of curling horns. The ewes' horns are much smaller and lighter and do not tend to curl. For the most part you won't run into more than one type of species of Bighorns in one area and wouldn't have to worry about differentiating between species of sheep. You can see these incredible animals in Iron County some will travel out from Zion National park.
History 5
The desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) is a subspecies of bighorn sheep found in the desert Southwest United States and the northern regions of Mexico. The trinomial of this species commemorates the American naturalist Edward William Nelson (1855–1934). The characteristics and behavior of desert bighorn sheep generally follow those of other bighorn sheep, except for adaptation to the lack of water in the desert; bighorn sheep can go for extended periods of time without drinking...
Sources and Credits
- (c) Joshua Smelser, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/53003170@N00/2829951206
- jacemecham, no known copyright restrictions (public domain)
- (c) jacemecham, all rights reserved
- Adapted by jacemecham from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovis_canadensis_nelsoni
- (c) jacemecham, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
