Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)

Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Mammals Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas

	General Information: Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) are large sheep of desert mountains with a tan coat and white rump. Adult males are recognized by their large, curled horns. Females and young males have smaller, straighter horns. Taxonomy: Order: Artiodactyla (Even-toed Hoofed Mammals); Family: Bovidae (cows, sheep, goats, and similar mammals). Breeding: Males and females gather to breed in the fall (November, December). Males leave the females and young to form separate bachelor herds during the summer. Males fight by bashing heads. Females breed at age 2.50.
	Diet: Vegetation; browse on shrubs, grasses, and forbs. Range: Southern Rocky Mountains in Canada south into Mexico throughout mountainous regions from California to Wyoming. Where to Find: Bighorn are fairly common in the mountains around Las Vegas. Good places to look for them include the cliffs around Willow Springs Picnic Area at Red Rock Canyon NCA, crags along Highway 93 near Hoover Dam, and Hemenway Park in Boulder City. Comments:
	A little extra company at the picnic. Link to many more photos of Bighorn at Hemenway Park, Boulder City, NV
	Bachelor herd of bighorn rams at Willow Springs, Red Rock Canyon NCA, NV
	Bachelor herd of bighorn rams at Willow Springs, Red Rock Canyon NCA, NV
	Ram and ewe heading off into the hills.
	Bighorn scat in the Arrow Canyon Range. These scats are not fresh; fresh scat would be blacker, shiny, and smoother on the surface. This pile is fairly large, most are smaller.
	Bighorn scat is oblong and about 1/2-inch long. They are similar to Mule Deer pellets, but a bit larger, and rabbit pellets are round.

Bighorn are occasionally all white (not albino)	White bighorn sheep (not albino)
White bighorn sheep (not albino)	more to come ...
Lake Mead NRA	Lake Mead NRA

Willow Springs at Red Rock Canyon NCA	Willow Springs at Red Rock Canyon NCA
Willow Springs at Red Rock Canyon NCA	Willow Springs at Red Rock Canyon NCA
Female Desert Bighorn Sheep in Death Valley National Park.	Female Desert Bighorn Sheep in Death Valley National Park.
Desert National Wildlife Range	Desert National Wildlife Range
Desert National Wildlife Range	Desert National Wildlife Range
Desert National Wildlife Range	Desert National Wildlife Range
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
El Dorado Wilderness Area	El Dorado Wilderness Area
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Zion National Park	Zion National Park
Lake Mead NRA, West End Wash	Lake Mead NRA, West End Wash
Lake Mead NRA, West End Wash	Lake Mead NRA, West End Wash
Lake Mead NRA, Goldstrike Canyon	Lake Mead NRA, Goldstrike Canyon