MOUNTAIN SHEEP (Ovis canadensis canadensis)
A large, grayish-brown sheep with a distinct whitish rump patch. Males (rams) larger; up to 300 pounds, having horns which sweep back and down and finally, in older rams, curling forward. Females (ewes) weigh up to 175 pounds, with smaller horns pointing backward with slight curvature. Ewe horns have a vague resemblance to the mountain goat horns, but there are no wild goats in the southern Rocky Mountains. Mountain sheep are also called bighorns.
No other animal of the Rockies is so symbolic of the wild, rugged grandeur of the Western mountain peaks as the mountain sheep. While they graze on sweet summer grasses and flowers of the alpine meadows and slopes, at 12,000 or more feet altitude, they are truly kings of all the vast domain they survey. They are all the more precious in the sanctuary of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is possible to drive up Trail Ridge Road and if one is ambitious, continue on foot up several miles of tundra slope to see one of the finest animal creatures placed on our planet. There are few places in this country where access to the high mountain peaks and sight of the bighorn is as easy.
Deer Fawn
Mountain Sheep Rams
The ewes bear their lambs singly, among the crags and rocky basins high above timberline, in late spring. After a few weeks they congregate in small flocks along with the yearlings (and sometimes young rams) to spend the summer in thin-aired solitude. The older rams keep by themselves, alone or in smaller bands. When the winter winds and snows begin whirling around the lofty peaks, the sheep seek refuge in protected cliffs and timber, or even move to lower valleys. The mating or rutting season occurs in November, accompanied by terrific battles among the rams for their harems. The opponents race at each other, leaping into the air for the final, powerful crash of horns, which may be heard a mile away. After a number of such encounters, the smaller or weaker sheep gives up and walks away. The skulls of rams are well adapted to the terrible beating they take in battle. The top front of the skull is double, having a layer of bone, then a space, then another layer of bone surrounding the brain case. In addition, the rams have a one-inch or more layer of shock-absorbing cartilage on the skull in back of the horns, joining the head and the backbone. Ram horns are not lost each year as are the antlers of deer and elk. Rather, they furnish a good indication of the age of the sheep, as they add a definite ridge or ring to the horn in its lengthening growth each fall season.
Bighorn bands have been observed recently in the following areas during the summer: The Never Summer Range, the Mummy Range, Flattop Mountain and peaks in vicinity, MacGregor Mountain, Specimen Mountain, Mount Ida and Sheep Rock, and on the crests near Trail Ridge Road above timberline. The small bands of sheep in the Park will shift with the season and with the year, but the last three named areas probably offer the easiest opportunity for viewing them. Sheep are usually on the move and feeding only in the very early morning hours and evening hours, often bedding down in secluded places in late morning and early afternoon. When stalking them, keep in mind that bighorn’s eyes are exceptionally sharp and capable of detecting a moving human up to two miles away. If you can spot them first with a field glass and then keep out of sight until near them, your chances of a good view are much improved.
THE FLESH EATERS (CARNIVORES)
BLACK BEAR (Ursus americanus)
Bulky, heavily furred animal up to 3 feet in height when on all fours. Born with and retains either a black or cinnamon-brown fur. Adults weigh about 300 pounds, sometimes much more.
Although there are an estimated thirty black bear roaming the deep forests of the region, they are only occasionally seen because of their solitary, nocturnal habits. They are infrequently observed lumbering across a road or foraging an outdoor garbage pit in the evening. The latter practice is discouraged, when discovered, to prevent them from becoming “bum” bears. Because of their unpredictable and sometimes vicious manner, it is unwise to feed or make friendly overtures toward any bear. They have only fair eyesight, but in the woods can scent or hear a human coming long before he might be seen, and will slip silently away through the woods, despite their bulk. The heavy, clustered bear dung and large tracks are the most usual sign of bear in the region. The diet is largely ants, grubs, berries, roots, and some small rodents. Bears in the region will den up in early December and go into a light sleep or semi-hibernation, living off their stored fat layers. They may be easily wakened from this sleep. The females, which have mated the previous May, usually bear twin cubs in February. The cubs, strangely enough, are about the size of an adult squirrel when born. They grow rapidly and are soon out in the scattered snow fields feeding with Mama.