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Numerous races of the widespread bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) occur throughout much of western North America. Some, like the southwestern desert bighorn O.c. nelsoni are widely distributed but several are endangered or threatened because of habitat loss, hunting pressure, introduced diseases, or other problems. An example is the Peninsular bighorn (O. c. cremnobates), one of the rarest of North American mammals, now confined to parts of Baja California and some of the Peninsular mountain ranges in southern California. The more common and widely distributed Rocky Mountain bighorn (O. c. canadensis) is shown here. These two sheep, a ewe and a young ram, were feeding in the eastern part of Zion National Park, Utah. This male has horns that are roughly 2/3 as big as those of a fully-grown adult. He was feeding on grass and oak leaves while keeping very close to the ewe, as the photos were made in October, shortly before the mating season. |
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