Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) came to North America about 700,000 years ago by way of the Bering Strait. But once they got here, they never went back.
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Unlike most animals that kept crossing back and forth as long as the land bridge opened, bighorns stayed put. Extreme differences in terrain and predators caused rapid differentiation in the species. Turns out they got real specialized due to the steep, rocky cliffs, thin air, and not a lot of interest in wandering through the lowlands. They only come down for food or water when they have to.
And with good reason. Back in the day, their predators included Panthera atrox, the biggest lion that ever lived, and the dire wolf. You live on a cliff when your other option is being lunch.
They’re born climbers. Within days of birth, lambs are scaling cliff faces. If they fall, they bounce off a few boulders and get back up like nothing happened. I’ve seen the videos. They don’t quit. Cougars and jaguars do the same thing, doesn’t matter what side of the food chain you’re on. On those rocks, you better be able to take a hit.
Speaking of hits, rams fight by slamming into each other with over 800 pounds of pressure, up to 50 times, just for the chance to mate. I like the ladies, but I’m not getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer 50 times. Retired rams even come down off the hillside just to fight old rivals. These sheep hold grudges. I respect that.
One of their biggest threats now is domestic sheep. Like European influenza hitting indigenous human populations, domestic sheep bring a type of pneumonia that can wipe out whole bighorn herds. And even though they’ve been genetically separate for thousands of years, bighorns will still try to mate. Apparently, if you’re willing to take 800-pound headbutts, a little pneumonia doesn’t scare you.
In California, their struggle continues due to habitat loss. While nobody’s building houses on cliffs, we are building where the water used to be. So when bighorns come down to drink, they find condos instead.
They were nearly wiped out by hunting and disease in the 1800s, down to around 20,000 individuals. But now, thanks to conservation and breeding programs, they’ve rebounded to about 85,000. They’re not out of the woods, or the cliffs, but they’re holding on, and still climbing.
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