Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunting

Desert Bighorn Sheep

(Ovis canadensis nelsoni)

Current SCI all time record: Score 198 - Arizona, Aravaipa Canyon - 12/88

Description:

Other Common Names:

Size: Adult males weigh between 160 and 200 lbs. with a maximum weight of 225 lbs. Adult females range from 75 to 130 lbs. and average 110 lbs.

Range: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Mexico; primarily November - March.

Natural History: Desert bighorns show considerable differentiation between the sexes. The biggest visual difference between the two sexes is the horns. Ewe horns are generally 10 to 13 inches long with a circumference of 5 to 6 inches. Ram horns may measure 30 to 40 inches along the outside curl with a basal circumference of 13 to 15 inches. The horn core is honeycombed with chambers, or sinuses, which reduce the weight of the skull.

Newborn bighorn lambs weigh 8 to 10 lbs. The young are active within minutes after birth. The young have dark eyes and fuzzy, dark-grey hair. As they mature, their eyes take on the characteristic golden or amber color. After several months, they take on adult coloration; dark brown in their northern range and pale buff in the southern. Color accents are a white muzzle, rump patch, eye rings, and edging on the rear legs, with a black tail. Bighorn sheep have a life expectancy of 10 to 12 years, but can reach 17 or older.

Usually one, rarely two lambs will be born. Young rams stay with their mothers until two years of age. They then leave the nursery herds and join in the bachelor herds. Except during the breeding season, and sometimes during the spring when early vegetation sprouts, bighorn adults separate according to sex.

Behavior: Physiological and behavioral sexual maturity varies. While rams as young as six months may be capable of breeding, they don't, due to the dominance of older rams. In nature, ewes probably aren't bred until they are two and a half years old and rams don't breed until three and a half. The breeding season extends from early June through October. Peak rutting activity occurs in August. The gestation period is 179 days.

Bighorn sheep are diurnal animals. Females, with lambs and yearlings, usually travel further then rams because of there being more mouths to feed. Bighorn usually occur in small groups, but have been seen in herds of 50 or more.

In the wild, grasses are important to the bighorn. Bighorn also feed heavily on jojoba. Pincushion and saguaro cactus provide moisture. Preferred plant species vary with habitat quality, locality, and species availability.

Mountain lions, golden eagles, bobcats, and coyotes have all been implicated as predators.

Hunting Characteristics: