17 Facts About Bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep is a species of sheep native to North America.

Wild Bighorn sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia into Alaska during the Pleistocene and subsequently spread through western North America as far south as Baja California and northwestern mainland Mexico.

In North America, wild sheep diverged into two extant species — Dall sheep, which occupy Alaska and northwestern Canada, and bighorn sheep, which range from southwestern Canada to Mexico.

Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the rams .

Male bighorn sheep have large horn cores, enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses, and internal bony septa.

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Bighorn sheep have preorbital glands on the anterior corner of each eye, inguinal glands in the groin, and pedal glands on each foot.

In contrast, the desert bighorn sheep subspecies are indigenous to the hot desert ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to certain diseases carried by domestic sheep, such as psoroptic scabies and pneumonia; additional mortality occurs as a result of accidents involving rock falls or falling off cliffs .

Bighorn sheep are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems.

Two hundred years ago, bighorn sheep were widespread throughout the western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico.

Restoration of bighorn sheep has been pursued actively by many state and federal agencies since the 1940s, although these efforts have met with only limited success, and most of the historical range of bighorns remains unoccupied.

Bighorn sheep were among the most admired animals of the Apsaalooka people, and what is today called the Bighorn Mountain Range was central to the Apsaalooka tribal lands.

Bighorn sheep are hunted for their meat and horns, which are used in ceremonies, as food, and as hunting trophies.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta and the state animal of Colorado and as such is incorporated into the symbol for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.

Bighorn sheep was featured in the children's book Buford the Little Bighorn by Bill Peet.

The Bighorn sheep named Buford has a huge pair of horns in the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, similar to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Bighorn sheep were once known by the scientific identification "argali" or "argalia" due to assumption that they were the same animal as the Asiatic argali .