What Is A Bighorn?

Bighorn is a sheep, generally found in western North America. This is also known as mountain sheep. The scientific name of bighorn is Ovis canadensis. Both of the sexes have horns. The male sheep may have curved horn in a spiral form which may elongate more than 1 meter in length. Their fur looks brown in colour with whitish remnant patches all over the body. The hooves of the body are hard in the outer surface but soft from within by allowing it an excellent climber and jumper. The approximate weight of a standard bighorn may become around 300lb (136 kg). Their general feeding comprises of grass such as wheatgrass, bluegrass, June-grass etc. They live in a group setting and are mostly found in remote crags and cliffs of mountainous areas. In general, they may live 7 to 8 years, whereas it may be extended up to 16 to 18 years. The meat of bighorn is full of flavour to food lovers.

Bighorn sheep are one of the most spectacular ungulates of the western Untied States. Their stocky bodies and thick necks supporting gigantic, curved horns are an unforgettable thrill for wildlife-watchers.
Bighorn see you a lot more often then you see them, due to their drab, camouflaged colouration. They rarely cross open ground, sticking to mountain passes. Bands of up to 30 individuals, controlled by a few alpha males, have distinct territories.
Competing males may stage spectacular fights, ramming each other with their horns. The sound of this can be heard for up to a half-mile away.
Outside of big-game hunters, bighorn have few predators because not many species can move so nimbly in rocky territory. Bighorn have protected status in California after a precipitous dip in their population, but they are recovering.
Bighorns are perfectly suited for their desert habitat, and can go for days without water, gleaning enough moisture from the plants they eat.
Good places to see desert bighorn are the outer reaches of Death Valley National Park and Anza Borrego ("Sheep") State Park near San Diego. On a recent visit to Red Rocks National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, we saw a herd of 30 bighorn grazing slowly near the mouth of a popular canyon.
The desert bighorn is the state mammal of Nevada. There is a large statue of them in front of the Governor's Mansion in the capital, Carson City. An image of a bighorn is on the Nevada driver's license, along with the state  bird, the mountain bluebird.