Rocky Mountain King

North America's Rocky Mountain range is arguably the most tough and gritty biosphere for mammals in the western hemisphere. Highlighted by the high altitude king - Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Unlike Europe and Asia, the wild sheep of North America have never been domesticated. Native Americans used bighorn sheep as a food source and the Mountain Crow and Shoshone of the Yellowstone region were even known to make prized hunting bows out of the bighorn sheep’s’ horns. They accomplished this feat by soaking the curls in hot springs until they became soft and then reverse bending curls and lashing them together with sinew. The dominant ram captured in this image was defending his mating rites with a large group of ewes by pushing, and head clashing, with all potential male challengers. Only smaller, immature rams were welcome to graze in his proximity.

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Filename: YP-1952-RkyMtnKing.jpg
Copyright: © 2021 Robert P Dotson
Image Size: 5456x3410 / 17.2MB; National Parks & Monuments North America Rocky Mountain big horn sheep Things United States Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park animal animals art bad weather big game bighorn sheep cold geography horn horns mammal mammals nasty weather natural nature places ram rams seasons snow weather wildlife winter
Contained in galleries: Fine Art Wildlife

North America's Rocky Mountain range is arguably the most tough and gritty biosphere for mammals in the western hemisphere. Highlighted by the high altitude king - Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Unlike Europe and Asia, the wild sheep of North America have never been domesticated. Native Americans used bighorn sheep as a food source and the Mountain Crow and Shoshone of the Yellowstone region were even known to make prized hunting bows out of the bighorn sheep’s’ horns. They accomplished this feat by soaking the curls in hot springs until they became soft and then reverse bending curls and lashing them together with sinew. The dominant ram captured in this image was defending his mating rites with a large group of ewes by pushing, and head clashing, with all potential male challengers. Only smaller, immature rams were welcome to graze in his proximity.