Grazing Big Horn

Found this bighorn sheep while driving on the Alaskan Highway.

The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep native to North... more

by Robert Bales

Title

Grazing Big Horn

Artist

Robert Bales

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

Found this bighorn sheep while driving on the Alaskan Highway.

The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep native to North America. The species is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb); the sheep weigh up to 140 kg (300 lb). Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered. Sheep originally crossed to North America over the Bering land bridge from Siberia; the population in North America peaked in the millions, and the bighorn sheep entered into the mythology of Native Americans. By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand, due to diseases introduced through European livestock and overhunting.
Ovis canadensis is one of three species of mountain sheep in North America and Siberia; the other two species being O. dalli, which includes Dall sheep and Stone's sheep, and the Siberian snow sheep, O. nivicola. Wild sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia into Alaska during the Pleistocene (about 750,000 years ago) and subsequently spread through western North America as far south as Baja California and northwestern mainland Mexico. Divergence from their closest Asian ancestor (snow sheep) occurred about 600,000 years ago. In North America, wild sheep diverged into two extant species—Dall sheep, which occupy Alaska and northwestern Canada, and bighorn sheep, which range from southwestern Canada to Mexico. However, the status of these species is questionable given that hybridization has occurred between them in their recent evolutionary history

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uploaded

September 26th, 2019