Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis nelsoni), Mojave National Preserve, 2015.
Summary
Two bighorn sheep are in this photo. Do you see the well-camouflaged lamb? Bighorn are named for the large, curved horns borne by the rams (males). Ewes (females) also have horns but they are smaller. Bighorn are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems. The classification of bighorn sheep subspecies are under contention; however, recent DNA-testing is revealing that potentially three subspecies exist: Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (O. c. canadensis), Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (O. c. sierrae) and the subspecies in the picture, desert bighorn sheep (O. c. nelsoni). Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada bighorn occupy cooler mountainous regions. This is in distinct contrast to the desert bighorn, indigenous to the hot deserts of the SW U.S. and Mexico.
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