5270 x 3581 px | 44,6 x 30,3 cm | 17,6 x 11,9 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
8. September 2005
Ort:
Wyoming USA
Weitere Informationen:
The magnificent Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep was designated official state animal of Colorado in 1961. Named for their massive, curling horns (which can grow to 50 inches in length) and known for their agility and perfect balance, Rocky Mountain bighorns (Ovis canadensis) are found only in the Rockies (usually above the timberline) in extremely rugged terrain . The horns of Bighorn Sheep are not shed annually like the antlers of deer and elk, but grow in length and circumference throughout the sheep's life (a pair can weigh nearly 30 pounds). Fewer than 45, 000 bighorn sheep are scattered through the western United States and Canada in small, isolated herds. Uncontrolled hunting caused the extinction of the bighorn subspecies that once lived in the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota (the three small herds that exist there now were transplanted from other states). Today it is illegal to pursue, take, hunt, wound or kill the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep except as provided by law. Bighorn Sheep are very social animals, generally separated into two groups. Mature rams stay in one group while the ewes, lambs, and young rams congregate separately (rams stay with the "nursery group" until 2- 3 years of age). The groups join during the rut (mid November through late December) and sometimes for a short period in the spring.
