Bighorn Sheep Gallery #1

Strange Looking Trees

It was my last day in Yellowstone and getting late in the day. I had just spent a wonderful week hiking in the Tetons and Yellowstone and decided to take a few quick jaunts on some trails I hadn't been on, just to get a feel for the trails, to see which ones I wanted to hike in the future. I planned to hike a half hour on each trail and started with the Rescue Creek Trail. Even though I had planned to turn around after half an hour, I still hadn't crossed this large meadow and wanted to see what was around the corner of the hill. I decided to hike a bit more, even though it meant I'd only be able to hike one other trail before sunset. I was glad I did, rounding the corner was a beautiful scene.

I stopped to drink some water before heading back to the trailhead. There were some strange looking trees down the hill a way, mixed in with some sagebrush. Probably not photographing and I turned to head back, but decided to check them out with my telephoto lens just to be sure ...

Male bighorn sheep laying down at Yellowstone National Park

Dining In

... when I lifted the camera to my eye, the telephoto lens revealed the truth: the trees were actually a group of six bighorn sheep, all males of various ages. They were sitting beside the trail, so I carefully veered off trail, careful not to make any sudden movements or to crush any vegetation in this arid part of the park. As I circled downhill, one of the older ones stood up and trained his gaze on me. I froze for a few moments until that wonderful moment when he sat back down and they all returned to lazily grazing where they lay.

I had been accepted.

Male bighorn sheep walking at Yellowstone National Park

On the Move

The first hour that I watched them, the rams never moved from the sagebrush where they were laying. Then a couple of rams got up and walked a few dozen yards to a more grassy area where they walked around and grazed. One by one, the rest eventually followed. Since they had come downhill, I circled back up the hill so that I could both keep my distance and still get a good view of the group.

This ram was starting to head back up the hill later in the afternoon.

Scrum

The football players from St. Louis aren't the only rams who know how to huddle. The group of six never strayed far from each other, sometimes even huddling together as shown here. I had always assumed that rams would be solitary creatures and was very surprised to see such social behavior.

Male bighorn sheep at Yellowstone National Park

Prime of Life

Once I knew they were comfortable with me, I made sure to keep circling as they moved around to graze, always keeping my distance. I ended up watching them for a couple of hours. This ram was spectacular, one of the older ones with a full circle of horns. I'm glad they let me watch them for so long, not only was it a wonderful chance to watch them in their element, but since they often had their heads down while they ate, it let me get some pictures when they'd occasionally raise their heads.

Earth Tones

The northeastern part of Yellowstone extends into Montana and is quite different from most of the park. It has the lowest elevation in the park and so is most accessible during the winter. It is also drier here with hills and grasslands, making it well suited for bighorn sheep and pronghorn. The colors here are more muted than in other parts of the park, but it has a beauty all its own, a beauty colored in oranges and browns and yellows and reds.

This was one of the younger rams in the group, his horns still haven't grown full circle.

Wear and Tear

This ram's horns show the wear and tear that have accumulated over the years. Judging by the size of the horns, there appeared to be a range of years in the group. I wonder if the horns are like snowflakes, each unique, so that you could identify a ram based purely on its horns: how far they loop around, how thick they are, how closely spaced they are to the head, the damage patterns.

Regardless, they're cool looking and I hope genetic engineering will one day let me grow my own. Although it will make it hard to wear hats ...

Time for Goodbyes

After almost two hours, the group stopped grazing and started up the path into the hills. It was getting late in the afternoon and now that they were moving, I didn't want to stress them by trying to follow so I said my goodbyes and took the trail in the opposite direction, back towards the trailhead. It was interesting watching them decide to move, there were never any sudden movements, just a few that started slowly walking up the hill before stopping. The others grazed for a bit before following. They all stopped as a group on a small ridge where this one is standing now. After standing around for a few minutes, they continued walking up into the hills.

It is one of my favorite hiking moments of all time.

	Dining In ... when I lifted the camera to my eye, the telephoto lens revealed the truth: the trees were actually a group of six bighorn sheep, all males of various ages. They were sitting beside the trail, so I carefully veered off trail, careful not to make any sudden movements or to crush any vegetation in this arid part of the park. As I circled downhill, one of the older ones stood up and trained his gaze on me. I froze for a few moments until that wonderful moment when he sat back down and they all returned to lazily grazing where they lay. I had been accepted.
	On the Move The first hour that I watched them, the rams never moved from the sagebrush where they were laying. Then a couple of rams got up and walked a few dozen yards to a more grassy area where they walked around and grazed. One by one, the rest eventually followed. Since they had come downhill, I circled back up the hill so that I could both keep my distance and still get a good view of the group. This ram was starting to head back up the hill later in the afternoon.
	Scrum The football players from St. Louis aren't the only rams who know how to huddle. The group of six never strayed far from each other, sometimes even huddling together as shown here. I had always assumed that rams would be solitary creatures and was very surprised to see such social behavior.
	Prime of Life Once I knew they were comfortable with me, I made sure to keep circling as they moved around to graze, always keeping my distance. I ended up watching them for a couple of hours. This ram was spectacular, one of the older ones with a full circle of horns. I'm glad they let me watch them for so long, not only was it a wonderful chance to watch them in their element, but since they often had their heads down while they ate, it let me get some pictures when they'd occasionally raise their heads.