Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
This was one handsome and muscular fellow! He was clearly in fighting form and ready for the rut.
Five rams were hanging out in Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver recently, on the prowl for the ladies. This was one of the bigger members of the bachelor herd and he was definitely large and in charge. Unfortunately, they were not in the mood to fight each other on this particular day but I did manage some nice captures.
This was one handsome fellow and he was more than willing to give me some good looks last weekend. Like with bison, I tend to like black and white pics of them. It really draws out the finer details, particularly of those awesome horns.
There are three subspecies of bighorn sheep with the Rocky Mountain variety being the largest. These guys can weigh over 300 pounds with their horns alone weighing 30 pounds!
Here in Colorado they are our state animal and are incorporated into the logo for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Finally! It had been two years since I got some decent pics of Colorado’s state animal and yesterday that streak came to an end.
I headed to this spot southwest of Denver where the bighorn sheep frequent. I counted eight rams, five that were easily accessible. Unfortunately there wasn’t any head-butting which is what I was really hoping for, but they did give me some nice poses.
On this one, the leader of the pack takes the bachelor herd down the road, the first time they have been down that low this season.
The bighorn sheep is the Centennial State’s official animal and to me that is quite fitting. Just like the terrain and many of its people, these animals are very rugged, strong and tough.
The animal is found in many places in the state’s high country. Diseases from European livestock and overhunting had caused the animal’s population to drop precipitously by the early 1900s. Thankfully conservation efforts have been successful in helping the sheep rebound since then.
A frustrating photo morning. I went to Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver for the bighorn and yeah, I saw them – as tiny little dots on the side of the canyon. Sigh. Apparently they came down hours later but I wasn’t willing to wait that long.
I am in a bit of a ‘photo funk’ having gone weeks without a truly quality photo outing. I’ve had periods like this where I struggle to find quality subjects and fail to have a good outing but this one, goodness, seems to be going on forever. The drought continues…
I took yesterday off and headed southwest of Denver in the hopes of getting pics of the Centennial State’s official animal. Technically I succeeded but not the way I had hoped. Naturally I was really wanting to see the Bighorn Sheep rams, the big boys.
Unfortunately, my 10 1/2 mile bike ride yielded only ewes and lambs. I did see a few rams but they stayed high on the canyon sides and never came down to give me a decent shot. At least the little ones are cute and made for a decent consolation prize.
August 1st is celebrated here as “Colorado Day,” the anniversary on which we officially became a state. President Ulysses S Grant issued a proclamation on August 1, 1876, “declaring the State admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States.” And with that, 100 years after the birth of the nation, the Centennial State joined the union.
The Bighorn Sheep is Colorado’s official animal and to me that is quite fitting. Just like the terrain and many of its people, these animals are very rugged, strong and tough.
The animal is found in many places in the state’s high country. Diseases from European livestock and overhunting had caused the animal’s population to drop precipitously by the early 1900s. Thankfully conservation efforts have been successful in helping the sheep rebound since then.
Oh how I wish the ladies of this species were as striking as their male counterparts but they simply are not. They are far smaller and oftentimes look kind of scraggly, particularly this time of year when they are still shedding their winter coat. Nevertheless, this morning I felt obligated to take this one’s picture as she seemed quite insistent about it.
This Bighorn Sheep lamb was proving itself to be quite the adept climber, as all of its kind are. It had worked its ways up the side of a mountain in Colorado’s Waterton Canyon, stopping briefly to pose and look down at the rest of its herd.
It almost seemed like it wasn’t sure how the heck to get down from its perch on high. Of course it had no problem when it decided to rejoin the others.
The Bighorn Sheep is the Centennial State’s official animal and to me that is quite fitting. Just like the terrain and many of its people, these animals are very rugged, strong and tough. The animal is found in many places in the state’s high country.
Just like a human child, young animals sometimes seem to revel in having their picture taken. Such was the case with this little lamb in the foothills southwest of Denver, Colorado recently.
While most of the herd ignored me, this one seemed to almost be begging to have its picture taken and of course I was happy to oblige.
Found across much of western North America, Bighorn Sheep are adept mountain climbers, best known for the male ram’s monstrous horns. While the animals are social, rams and ewes typically only meet during mating season. The young are kept on high ledges to help protect them from predators.
Who knew they could do this, eh? 😉 Most of the herd started on the opposite of the South Platte River from me but it wasn’t long before they crossed over. The rams and ewes waded across with out creating a splash but the little ones were not too keen on the depth and speed of the water so they tended to bound across pretty quickly. I was lucky enough to freeze the action of this one as it leaped. Lighting was horrendous with deep shadows but it was fun to see.
