Learn about: Bighorn Sheep!

Photo by Jenny Venturo

All throughout the Rocky Mountains, we were looking for bighorn sheep. We saw several signs saying “Watch for Bighorn Sheep,” but still, we did not see one. Then, one day, we were driving high in the mountains through Monarch Pass. Right next to the road was a herd of bighorns! Only, these bighorns did not have big horns! They only had small nubs. So we kept looking . . .

In Glacier National Park, we saw some better bighorns. They had big, curling horns and were climbing on the rocks. They were so cool!

Ovis canadensis (bighorn sheep) lives throughout the Rocky Mountains. Its habitat is alpine meadows close to rocks. Bighorns are good swimmers and are even better at climbing. A bighorn’s hoof has a spongy middle, providing grip as it climbs.

As a bighorn sheep’s horn grows, it begins to block part of the sheep’s vision. So, the sheep will rub the tip off the horn. This reminds me of how we should discard anything that takes our eyes off of Jesus! Matthew 5:30 says that if anything causes you to sin, you should throw it away!

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Information from: Whitaker, John O., Jr. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1980.