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Introduction
Welcome to the Bighorn sheep page! The male bighorn sheep is a beautiful animal and has massive horns as you can see in the photo below. Please take your time and read through the information. Maybe one day you will be out traveling, hiking or boating and see one of these incredible animals, you might even see one at your local the zoo. Have fun exploring this site. You will not need your binoculars!  WHO AM I?
I‘m also called a mountain sheep; I am a four legged animal with massive horns. My coat is near the same color as rocks, so I blend in with the scenery. I can run quickly and climb on jagged rocks with no problem. Arizona only has about 7000 Bighorn sheep. A male is called a ram and the female is called a ewe. WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE ? Bighorn rams have massive horns that curve backwards from the forehead, and then curl back and around their ears. Their horns can measure up to 4 feet 2 inches long. Female bighorn sheep have very short horns and slightly curved. Their fur coat is short and a brownish color with a creamy-white belly. They blend in with the rocky side of the mountains. You might notice my white tail end first. I also have white around my black nose. The male bighorn sheep are much larger than the females. The Arizona bighorn male weighs from 160 – 200 pounds, and the female weighs 75 – 130. Bighorns live in small groups, but in Arizona a group of 50 have been spotted.
 WHERE DO I LIVE?
I am only found in North America, from east-central British Columbia and all the way down through Baja California. Arizona Bighorn, live in the arid desert regions of east central Arizona. They like to climb on the steep rocky forested areas. They are active during daylight hours.
WHAT DO I EAT?
Grasses are important and low shrubs. I also eat jojoba, pincushion and saguaro which also provide me with moisture.
HOW DO I REPRODUCE? During mating season I engage in long battles. Rams begin fighting by ramming into one another with their big horns, the biggest one usually wins. After winning the fight the male ram will mate with a female ewe. It will take about 175 days, or nearly 6 months, for the baby lamb to be born.  FUN FACTS
My chief enemies are the wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. I 'm endangered by disease from livestock and by the spread of housing developments that are invading my habitat.
ACTIVITY Now would you like to have some fun! Find the Desert Explorer Mission link at the bottom of the page, click and print out the packet, you can then draw your favorite desert animals, along with that you can record interesting facts that you have learned on this website.
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION AT:
Arizona Game and Fish, Managing today for wildlife tomorrow. This website provides a short youtube video explaining current issues concerning bighorn sheep in the state of Arizona - http://www.azgfd.gov/video/BighornSheep.shtml
World book Encyclopedia, Resourse book used for gathering facts about the bighorn sheep. |
