ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK — Perhaps you’ve spotted them high on the hillside above I-70, or navigating the steep canyon walls of Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon. Bighorn sheep are the most iconic animals to call this rugged state home, and it’s no wonder they were chosen Colorado’s state animal.

There are two species of bighorns in Colorado: the Rocky Mountain and the Desert sheep. The Rocky Mountain variant is far more prolific, with an estimated 7,500 throughout the state. Desert bighorn numbers are estimated at about 500 and are only found in the far western regions of the state.

These creatures are best known for two reasons: amazing agility in making their way through the treacherous terrain of steep canyon walls, and the famous ritual involving rams (males) bashing their heads together. The head-butting sometimes even takes place with death-defying power on those same sheer, rocky faces.

Bighorn hooves are well adapted to navigating the oft precipitous crags. A toenail-like outer hoof is shaped to be able to gain purchase on the narrowest ledges. The inner hoof is a soft pad with a gripping surface that conforms to a variety of rocky surfaces.  

While not all their time is spent on the steepest walls of canyons, these hoof features provide the means for incredibly agile feats of navigation, with the terrain providing excellent protection from predators. They can easily traverse ledges as narrow as two inches.

Being a ruminant animal, bighorns have four stomachs. This allows them to graze and store large amounts of food in terrain that could be dangerous with predators. They then move to the higher, safer cliffs to “regurgitate” and chew the cud for better digestion.

The sheep also have a unique ability to absorb moisture from their food, allowing them to go much longer without drinking water when retreating to their high safe zones.

As the title mentions, while well known for their astounding agility, they are also fragile creatures, proven to be quite susceptible to illness and disease. The leading cause of natural death is pneumonia, with predation coming in second.

European settlers and their livestock (mainly domestic sheep) brought the pneumonia bacteria Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae with them, and the North American bighorn population has never been the same. Once thought to number between 1.5 - 2 million animals, modern estimates put the entire North American population at around 70 - 80,000.

Not only can an outbreak have high mortality rates, but some sheep also carry and chronically shed the bacteria annually. Shedding most often affects newborns, so unless it is treated (usually by identifying and removing an infected animal), it can eventually lead to the decimation of an entire herd over the course of a few years.

Here in Colorado, many herds have undergone significant losses just in the last 100 years. The method of herd recovery most used is to relocate and introduce sheep from larger, healthier herds. Identifying outbreaks and removing infected animals is a great help, and if sick (coughing), or dead sheep are encountered, CPW requests immediate notification of locations.

While they are sometimes difficult to find due to their chosen high and craggy homes, if you have the opportunity I highly recommend spending time seeking out our bighorns.

The famous head-butting takes place in the fall more often than in the rest of the year as they get close to their rut season. It is a stunning ritual to behold. We just ask that you leave your domestic livestock at home when you pay them a visit.

References for this article include information from the following websites bit.ly/nwfbighornsheep, bit.ly/npsbighornsheep, and bit.ly/ndowbighornsheep.

For additional information about James DeWalt Photography, check out  jamesdewaltphotography.com.