Mammals · Artiodactyla · Bovidae

Bighorn Sheep

Ovis canadensis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The bighorn sheep is the wild sheep of the mountains of western North America, from the Canadian Rockies to the deserts of Mexico. The males grow massive, curled horns that can weigh more than the animal's entire skeleton, and use them in spectacular head-on fights during the rut. It lives on steep ground, where it escapes predators. Diseases transmitted by domestic sheep, above all bacterial pneumonia, cause mass die-offs in its populations.

Weight

53 kg – 140 kg

Size

1.2 m – 1.8 m

Lifespan

14 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertMountainHerbivore Diurnal Desert Mountain Mammal

3countries 11parks86same family

Fun facts

GeneralMales clash horns at over 30 km/h, and those horns can weigh 14 kg — more than the rest of the skeleton.
In rutting fights two males charge head-on at more than 30 kilometres an hour and clash horns with a crack audible a kilometre away; the skull has a double layer of bone and an internal septum that absorbs the impact.
An adult male's horns can weigh more than all the bones of his skeleton put together.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Cliffs, steep slopes and alpine meadows of the mountains of western North America
Sexual maturity: 23.2 months
Gestation / incubation: 5.9 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovis_canadensis