Talk:Bighorn sheep

Redirects: Desert bighorn sheep, Desert bighorn-sheep, Bighorn Sheep, Bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis, Ovis canadensis nelsoni, Ovis canadensis mexicana, Ovis canadensis cremnobates

Formatting

Sorry to mess up your excellemt page, Mav. There is still something screwy with the new image format code. The range map forced the taxobox to almost the full width of the screen in Opera 6.x, though it looked perfectly OK in IE 5.0 and Moz 1.6. I uploaded a thumbnail of the picture too, but discoverd it was the map that was the problem, so I'll delete the thumbnail afain in a moment. Tannin 13:21, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

No problem. :) --mav

Subspecies

The subspecies of this species is under dispute by biologists, but are still widely used by governmental agencies and conservation organizations. I tried to reflect this mess in the Subspecies section. Unfortunately, because most of the article came from the USGS, it uses a possibly idiosyncratic definition (with only three subspecies). I'm not sure how to proceed with editing. -- hike395 19:08, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Mentioning the controversy is a good first start. But since most of the per state info is from government sources, and those government sources seem to be working on an idiosyncratic definition, I think we should just state that fact up front. The results of other studies can be added later. I also think that the rangemap should be put back - but with caveats. --mav 21:55, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

OK, restored map (down toward bottom). Let me take a crack at scrubbing the subspecies out of the state-by-state stuff, see if you like it. I'd like to add more about O. c. californiana in the California section, but I'll hold off until we've reached a consensus over the subspecies stuff. -- hike395

Statement conflict

Hi. These two statements conflict. Which is it, tens of thousands or millions? Thanks. --ChrisRuvolo 07:53, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

The number of Bighorn Sheep in North America in pristine times is unknown but most likely was in the tens of thousands. A 1929 estimate of the pre-Columbian numbers of all subspecies of Bighorn Sheep in North America was at 1.5-2 million.

See the nature-serve website. The 2 million estimate is a "order of magnitude too large". Randaly 11:56, 6 April 2007 (UTC)Randaly

Bighorn sheep in Rocky Mountain Park

Just want to add there are 800 bighorn sheep in Rocky Mountain National Park. http://www.nps.gov/romo/visit/park/wildlife.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.1.139.253 (talk) 15:12, 22 August 2004 (UTC)

Wrong redirect

Just want to add that bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats are two completely different animals. I typed in "Rocky Mountain Goat" and was directed to the Bighorn Sheep page, which should not happen. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.102.177 (talk) 21:57, 22 August 2004 (UTC)

Population trends

I'm confused about the "Population trends" section. It appears to give two different population numbers for the species in 1960, and also seems to compare the animal with itself (I'm not sure what was intended there.) Here is the confusing passage, in italics:

By 1960, however, the overall population in the United States had dwindled to 15,000-18,200 (with major declines from the 1850s to the early 1900s)...

These declines were followed by a period of population stabilization that was ascribed to conservation measures. The decline of Bighorn Sheep probably mirrored the pattern of decline of the overall bighorn population. Bighorn Sheep population trends have been upward since the 1960s when their population was estimated at 6,700-8,100.

Which is the correct 1960 data? Is there a difference between "bighorn sheep" and "the overall bighorn population?" Some editing here would be helpful. --Funnyhat 19:12, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Bighorn Sheep might refer to only the main species. Also in the "1960's" might refer to later years than 1960. Randaly 11:56, 6 April 2007 (UTC)Randaly

Bighorn sheep

The Wikipedia concept is alluring, but this page is a good example of the problems that arise when an entry is not written and/or edited by specialists in afield. The bighorn sheep section is badly garbled and, in several places, just plain wrong.

Examples:

1)The conservation status of the Ovis canadensis is NOT "endangered." Last time I chekced, there were two POPULATIONS of bighorn sheep that were federally listed, the Peninsular and the California. Many other populations in the U.S. and Canada are secure and/or growing.

2) Your distribution map shows only the distribution of desert bighorn sheep. This error is compounded in your comment on Colorado distribution. There may or may not have been any DESERT bighorn sheep in pristine Colorado, but there were thousands of bighorn sheep. Reports from that region may reach all the way back to Coronado but certainly begin in the early 1800s. Colorado remains one of the strongholds for Rocky Mountain bighorns.

3) The table that lists bighorn sheep populations ca. 1993 is for DESERT bighorns only. I didn't see any label indicating that-- it would be easy for someone to conclude that this table was some sort of estimate for ALL bighorns in the U.S.

I haven't got time to go on with this critique. I hope somebody squares this page away. Right now, it is badly flawed. Whatever else you do, be sure you separate general information on bighorns from info specific to the desert subspecies. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.146.155.143 (talk) 20:36, 12 June 2005 (UTC)

Tried to separate the information about different subspecies into different articles. Please feel free to fix if I made an incorrect edit. -- hike395 06:01, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Weight of the horns

Do the males' horns weigh up to 30 pounds (14 kg), or up to 40 pounds (18 kg)? The "Characteristics" section lists both figures. Funnyhat 03:50, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Domestication - impossible?

The article says Bighorn Sheep can't be domesticated because they don't have a clear dominance hierarchy and won't follow a single leader. Probably this is an exaggeration. In fact Bighorn herds are reasonably cohesive, so there must be some social mechanism for keeping herds intact as they move around. Perhaps not the identical mechanisms that humans learned to exploit with sheep and goat species that were domesticated in Europe and SW Asia, but nevertheless a mechanism capable of discovery and exploitation.

Orphaned Bighorn lambs have certainly been tamed and integrated into human families, probably replicating the intial phases of domestication in Old World neolithic societies. Probably Bighorn Sheep were never fully domesticated simply because Native American societies in their range had not reached a stage of agricultural development where domestication of animals was seen as a priority. If domestication had been a priority, bison are probably as capable of domestication as the wild ancestors of cattle and water buffalo -- which are actually quite fierce. Perhaps deer could have been domesticated into a functional equivalent of goat, New World ducks probably could have been domesticated as easily as their Old WOrld counterparts.

Instead as history played out, Eurasian domesticated animals arrived on the scene before Native Americans seem to have fully grasped the possibilities of domestication. When these possibilities became obvious, it was much easier to adopt the european results than to proceed with the lengthy process of selective breeding with New World natives. LADave 11:16, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Domestication is possible; can be done in one generation, and should be done for all the native american ungulates, domestication of a particular species of animal garenties its survival, this is evedant with the American Plains Bison if it were left up to the US gov. the plains bison would be extinct. —Preceding ETBreedlove comment added by 204.124.92.254 (talk) 21:45, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

An Eagle?

From the characteristics section: "Bighorns are well adapted to climbing steep terrain where they seek cover from predators such as coyotes, eagles, and cougars. "

Was this some kind of joke? I do not believe bighorns face predation from eagles. Furthermore, how would climbing up a slope provide any protection from an airborne predator like an eagle? I think the word "eagle" should be eliminated unless someone can offer some reference to support the claim. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.162.74.90 (talk) 22:20, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Not a joke but until they are a certain size, eagles can easily take lambs. In fact a lot of birds can kill the lambs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.26.109.139 (talk) 07:01, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Not true, the lambs are just too large, an eagle has trouble handling some trout, and grown house cats prove too large for them to handle, the california condor would be a considerable danger if it wornt for the fact that they dont kill their pray.

Bears should be in in this list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.124.92.254 (talk) 21:31, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

We have large birds of prey in Ohio -- including eagles. they are not capable of eating small dogs, much less big horn sheep lambs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.186.139.101 (talk) 14:35, 21 August 2011 (UTC) I have seen an eagle pick a lamb up from a field, and lift it all the way to the top of a tree. Sheep producers in our area of BC have problems with bald eagles that pick up poultry and lambs. Occasionally golden eagles will kill larger lambs, and there are reports of small animal kills in Alaska by golden eagles. On youtube there is a video of an eagle knocking a wild goat off a cliff, then going down to eat it.

Interbreeding

Can bighorns breed with domestic sheep? 63.26.109.139 (talk) 07:02, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Culture

Are bighorn sheep the inspiration for the mascot of the St. Louis Rams, and the log of Ram Trucks? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.91.70.120 (talk) 12:14, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Yup, the logos are based on the bighorn sheep (with its distinctive curved horns).^[1] - M0rphzone (talk) 06:09, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Edit: After checking the article pages, it seems the logos are based on the ram (and not specifically the bighorn sheep although it has the same curved horns as well). - M0rphzone (talk) 06:22, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Ewes

After a discussion on another site where somebody said bighorn ewe horns are small and straight like a goat - citing wikipedia - I had to make a login and say something here.

See the FAQ at the Bighorn Insitiute:

   http://www.bighorninstitute.org/faq.htm

saya: "Female bighorn or "ewes" have slender, straighter horns that grow throughout their lives to lengths of 8-10" for Rocky Mountain bighorn ewes and 12-17" for desert bighorn ewes. "

Ewe' horns tend to stay in one plane, and not spiral like a ram, but they DO curve, especially the Desert ewes. Their horns are often said to never exceed half a circle, but the desert bighorn ewes push that sometimes.

Mostly, they are curved in a single plane and slender. Ram's horns are fat. I don't know how to give any of that as a wikipedia reference, but I am changing the wording slightly. If anybody feels like doing some homework, a lot of details can be improved here. The subspecies differ quite a bit in some ways, and it would be good to look over this article with some resepected references in hand. Right now bad inferences are being made from this otherwise valuable work. Here's to the lady bighorns.

Mikevallarta (talk) 15:52, 12 October 2010 (UTC)