Bighorn Sheep Gallery #1

Strange Looking Trees

A bighorn sheep ram lies in sagebrush beside the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Dining In

After a wonderful week of hiking in Wyoming, in the last few hours of my last day I decided to take quick jaunts part way down three Yellowstone trails I had not yet hiked, just to get a taste for future reference. I planned an hour for each trail, starting with the Rescue Creek Trail, but I wasn't ready to turn back after the allotted time so I continued on at the cost of only having time to sample one more trail before sunset. The right decision, a beautiful scene awaited when I crossed the meadow and rounded the hill.

While drinking in the dry landscape I drank in some water as well and prepared to head back. Some strange looking trees down the hill caught my eye so I raised my camera for a closer look. The telephoto lens turned my strange trees into six bighorn rams of various ages. They were sitting beside the trail, so to avoid disturbing them I carefully veered off trail, careful not to make any sudden movements or to crush any vegetation in this arid part of the park. As I circled downhill, one of the older rams stood up and trained his gaze on me. I froze in my tracks until he sat back down and they all returned to grazing where they lay.

I had been accepted.

A bighorn sheep ram walks near the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

On the Move

The first hour that I watched them, the rams never moved from the sagebrush where they lay. Then a couple of rams got up and walked a few dozen yards to a more grassy area where they walked around and grazed. One by one, the rest eventually followed. Since they had come downhill, I circled back up the hill so that I could both keep my distance and still get a good view of the group.

This ram was starting to head back up the hill later in the afternoon.

A group of bighorn sheep rams on the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Scrum

The football players from St. Louis aren't the only rams who know how to huddle. The group of six never strayed far from each other, sometimes even huddling together as shown here. I had always assumed that rams would be solitary creatures and was surprised to see such social behavior. Which, it turns out, is quite normal for this time of year. Shows you what I know.

A bighorn sheep ram on the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Prime of Life

Once I knew they were comfortable with me, I made sure to keep circling as they moved around to graze, always keeping my distance. I ended up watching them for a couple of hours. This ram was spectacular, one of the older ones with a full circle of horns. I'm glad they let me watch them for so long, not only was it a wonderful chance to watch them in their element, but since they often had their heads down while they ate, it let me get some pictures when they'd occasionally raise their heads.

Earth Tones

The northeastern part of Yellowstone extends into Montana and is quite different from most of the park. It has the lowest elevation in the park and so is most accessible during the winter. It is also drier here amongst the hills and grasslands, well-suited for bighorn sheep and pronghorn. The landscape is colored more subtly than the famous geothermal features elsewhere in the park, but this section has a beauty all its own, a beauty colored in oranges and browns and yellows and reds.

This was one of the younger rams in the group, his horns still haven't grown full circle.

A bighorn ram on the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Wear and Tear

This ram's horns show the wear and tear that have accumulated over the years. Judging by the size of the horns, there appeared to be a range of years in the group. I wonder if the horns are like snowflakes, each unique, so that you could identify a ram based purely on its horns: how far they loop around, how thick they are, how closely spaced they are to the head, the damage patterns.

Regardless, they're cool and I await the day genetic engineering will let me grow my own. Although it will make it hard to wear hats …

Time for Goodbyes

After almost two hours, the group stopped grazing and started up the path into the hills. It was getting late in the afternoon and now that they were moving, I didn't want to stress them by trying to follow so I said my goodbyes and took the trail in the opposite direction, back towards the trailhead. It was interesting watching them decide to move, there were never any sudden movements, just a few that started slowly walking up the hill before stopping. The others grazed for a bit before following. They all stopped as a group on a small ridge where this one is standing now. After standing around for a few minutes, they continued walking up into the hills.

I bid them adieu and headed back to the car and started the long drive back home to Oregon. Instead of sampling three trails, I spent my last three hours on one and encountered what is still one of my favorite moments on the trails.

Other Pictures from that Afternoon

A group of bighorn sheep rams relaxes in the sagebrush along the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

A bighorn sheep ram relaxes in the sagebrush along the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Bighorn sheep rams relax in the sagebrush along the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

A bighorn sheep ram grazes along the Rescue Creek Trail in Yellowstone National Park

	Dining In After a wonderful week of hiking in Wyoming, in the last few hours of my last day I decided to take quick jaunts part way down three Yellowstone trails I had not yet hiked, just to get a taste for future reference. I planned an hour for each trail, starting with the Rescue Creek Trail, but I wasn't ready to turn back after the allotted time so I continued on at the cost of only having time to sample one more trail before sunset. The right decision, a beautiful scene awaited when I crossed the meadow and rounded the hill. While drinking in the dry landscape I drank in some water as well and prepared to head back. Some strange looking trees down the hill caught my eye so I raised my camera for a closer look. The telephoto lens turned my strange trees into six bighorn rams of various ages. They were sitting beside the trail, so to avoid disturbing them I carefully veered off trail, careful not to make any sudden movements or to crush any vegetation in this arid part of the park. As I circled downhill, one of the older rams stood up and trained his gaze on me. I froze in my tracks until he sat back down and they all returned to grazing where they lay. I had been accepted.
	On the Move The first hour that I watched them, the rams never moved from the sagebrush where they lay. Then a couple of rams got up and walked a few dozen yards to a more grassy area where they walked around and grazed. One by one, the rest eventually followed. Since they had come downhill, I circled back up the hill so that I could both keep my distance and still get a good view of the group. This ram was starting to head back up the hill later in the afternoon.
	Scrum The football players from St. Louis aren't the only rams who know how to huddle. The group of six never strayed far from each other, sometimes even huddling together as shown here. I had always assumed that rams would be solitary creatures and was surprised to see such social behavior. Which, it turns out, is quite normal for this time of year. Shows you what I know.
	Prime of Life Once I knew they were comfortable with me, I made sure to keep circling as they moved around to graze, always keeping my distance. I ended up watching them for a couple of hours. This ram was spectacular, one of the older ones with a full circle of horns. I'm glad they let me watch them for so long, not only was it a wonderful chance to watch them in their element, but since they often had their heads down while they ate, it let me get some pictures when they'd occasionally raise their heads.