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.