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Bighorn Sheep

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California Bighorn Sheep

• California Bighorn Sheep scientific name: (Ovis canadensis californiana).
• California Bighorn Sheep have a life span of 6 to 8 years.
• California Bighorn Sheep are classified as Mammal.
• California Bighorn Sheep (State Conservation Status) is labeled as Priority Species.
• California Bighorn Sheep are Big Game.
• California Bighorn Sheep are smaller than Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, both males and females have muscular bodies with strong necks, short black tails, and white muzzles, rumps, and ventral Their heads, necks and dorsal bodies are dark to medium rich brown in color.
• California Bighorn Sheep- male bighorn sheep, or rams have curved horns that can weigh up to 30 pounds and flare around their faces by the age of eight.
• California Bighorn Sheep- female bighorn sheep, or ewes, have smaller, thinner horns that curve slightly to a sharp point withing the first four years of life.
• California Bighorn Sheep-both female and male horns grow throughout their lives and have a bony core with a permanent keratin sheath.
• California Bighorn Sheep- as the bighorn sheep age, they develop rings on their horns, like tree growth rings, older rams may also file down their horns on rocks to break off pieces and improve their view of predators.
• California Bighorn Sheep- adult rams are generally larger in body size than Rams can weigh up to 250 lbs. while ewes typically weigh between 100-125 pounds.
• California Bighorn Sheep- rams spend most of the year in bachelor flocks, separate from females and young sheep.
• California Bighorn Sheep- rams engage in dominance battles with other rams to establish mating access to estrous Ewes generally remain in their mother’s group for life, led by an older ewe.
• California Bighorn Species are herbivores that spend their time grazing on sedges, grasses, and sagebrush.
• California Bighorn Sheep threats to habitat are disease, habitat fragmentation which occur when parts of a habitat are destroyed thus leaving smaller unconnected areas occurring naturally, or majority of the time due to human activity.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep scientific name: (Ovis canadensis).
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep have a life span of 9 to 12 years.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are classified as Mammal.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (State Conservation Status) is labeled as Priority Species.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are Big Game.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are the largest wild sheep in North America.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep males can weigh over 300 pounds.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep stand over 3 feet tall at the shoulder, females are about half that size.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, the males are about 6 feet long, while females are 5 to 5.5 feet long.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are usually grayish brown in color, with white patches on their rump, muzzle, back of their legs and belly.

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• The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep winter coats are thick, double-layered and may be lighter in color, these coats are shed during the summer. They have stout body and narrow nose, and small pointed ears.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep the mature males have large, coiled horns that can make up to 10% percent of their body weight.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep horns spiral backwards from the top of their head.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep horns can grow over 3 feet long and are broad at the base, females have much smaller spike-horns that are about 4 inches long and slightly curved.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep-both the male and female horns have a bony core with a permanent sheath of keratin that grows from the base.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep horns continue to grow throughout the sheep’s life.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep have a mating season or “rut” that occurs in late summer and fall. During this time, male bighorn sheep, or rams, compete for access to females through different tactics: males with a series of contact patterns (twisting, kicking, chest pushing). Females will rub their horns and bodies on the males.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep rams establish a dominance hierarchy based on age, size, and horn size, this prevents rams under seven years old from mating, but younger males may mate sooner in cases of dominant rams being killed.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep graze on grasses, sedges, and clover in warner summer months and willow, holly, cactus, and sage in the cooler months fall and winter. They seek minerals at natural salt licks such as lakes to add nutrients to their diet.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep habitat is grassy mountain slopes and alpine meadows, foothills near rugged rocky cliff and bluffs.
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep have the following threats to their habitat: disease, habitat fragmentation which occur when parts of a habitat are destroyed thus leaving smaller unconnected areas occurring naturally or majority of the time due to human activity and habitat loss.

Desert Bighorn Sheep

• Desert Bighorn Sheep Scientific name: (Ovis canadensis Nelson).
• Desert Bighorn Sheep life span is 6 to 8 years.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep are classified as Mammal.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep (State Conservation Status) as Priority Species.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep are Big Game.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep are herbivores with a diet of mostly grasses but includes shrubs, cacti, acacia and forbs and their diet depends on their geographic location and availability of vegetation.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep have muscular bodies, chocolate brown fur, and white fur around their muzzles, rumps, and bellies.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep rams can weigh up to 250 pounds and stand 38-42 inches at the shoulder and are generally smaller and lighter than Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep rams have large, curved horns that can weigh up to 30 pounds and curl back over their ears and down past their cheeks. Females (ewes) have shorter horns with a slight curve.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep prefer steep, rocky terrain, such as cliffs, canyons, where they can escape easily from predators and bed down.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep are gregarious and have a matrilineal social structure, ewes live in groups with their offspring, rams move between groups during breeding season, they have excellent vision and use body posture and scent to communicate with each other, and rarely vocalize, but bleat to find another animal or cough when alarmed.
• Desert Bighorn Sheep threats to habitat are disease, habitat fragmentation which occur when parts of a habitat are destroyed thus leaving smaller unconnected areas occurring naturally, or majority of the time due to human activity.

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Bighorn Sheep Classification System

• Class I (Two-Year Old Ram)
• Class II (Three-Year Old Ram)
• Class III (Six-to-Eight-Year-Old Ram)
• Class IV (Nine-Plus Year-Old Ram)

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Diseases of Bighorn Sheep/Rocky Mountain Sheep/ California Bighorn Sheep

1. Bacteria Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae- It can initial outbreaks of pneumonia that lead to high rates of mortality in herds across the This pathogen initiates a cascade of events that can cause severe outbreaks of pneumonia with high rates of mortality in Bighorn Sheep herds. After the initial outbreak, some Bighorn Sheep may chronically shed the bacteria and cause yearly outbreaks in lambs. Yearly lamb mortality can result in little to no recruitment and the population may eventually die out or at least fail to recover.
2. Sinus Tumor of Bighorn Sheep- It is a contagious tumor that grows in the sinuses of bighorn Tumors grow from the lining of the sinuses in the forehead, horns and above the teeth. These tumors are found in all three subspecies of bighorn sheep in Nevada with no risk to human health. These tumors cannot typically be seen from the outside of the head and the tumors destroy bone and produces thickened sinus lining, gelatinous tissues and mucus and pus. This disease is important because it may cause skull and horn deformities and impairs respiratory function and may contribute to respiratory disease that is inevitably a threat to Bighorn herds.
3. Sinusitis- It is an inflammation of the sinuses, that is caused by bacterial infection secondary to damage caused by the migration of bot fly larvae through the sinus lining. When the damage is severe, it can lead to weakening of the bone which can cause breakage of horns. Sheep may run from place to place and keep their heads near the ground to avoid or stamp their feet or shake their head to try and prevent the bot fly from laying eggs in their Sheep may also stand in a circle with their heads toward the center to avoid the fly.
4. Contagious ecthyma- It is known as orf, is a viral disease of sheep and goats that results in crusting sores around the It is especially severe in lambs and the pain from the sores can prevent them from nursing normally, leading to poor nutrition and growth. In adults, the disease manifests usually for a few weeks until they can mount an immune response and the sores resolve. Orf is a zoonotic disease (animal to human transmission) that can cause painful sores at the point of contact, usually the hands. To avoid contracting the disease (hunters) it is best to wear gloves when handling your harvest, especially if you notice sores around the mouth and nose of the Bighorn sheep.

https://www.ndow.org/blog/diseases-of-bighorn-sheep/
https://www.ndow.org/species/desert-bighorn-sheep/
https://www.ndow.org/species/rocky-mountain-bighorn-sheep/
https://www.ndow.org/species/california-bighorn-sheep/