With Bighorn Sheep Ewes in estrus, Bighorn Rams are persistently pursuing them During the Rut. Mating season for Bighorn Sheep is well underway as fresh snow blankets the landscape.
The Alberta Rockies is home to some of the largest Bighorn Rams in the World. Some of the Bigger Rams continue to establish a pecking order as the Bighorn Sheep Rut escalates.
Bighorns are gathering for the rutting season. This powerful species is a favorite for us to witness. Here, in early rutting season, they are gathering with larger Rams, beginning to assert themselves among the Ewes. It may be a little early for estrus and mating, but not too early for the pecking order. These amazing mountain climbers are always so inspiring to watch. We hope they have a successful mating season.
These Bighorn Rams in their rutting season were triggered into a Headbutting battle we were lucky enough to capture. All in their Prime, three Rams fighting eventually turned into four, with the attraction seeming to be the sound of other Rams headbutting. We are showing the highlights here, which is almost all headbutting of one of the most incredible Wildlife days in the Canadian Rockies for us. This is with original sound.. we hope you can appreciate why we left it as is, including it's faults.
The Bighorn Sheep Rut is just around the corner! Here is a taste of some favorite Bighorn Ram, Ewe and Lamb moments as we anticipate being able to share many more new memories very shortly. You can view Rams kicking(taunting), flehmen response, head butting and fighting, pursuing and blocking ewes, as well as some newborn Lambs working on their mountain climbing skills in this video.
More Bighorn Rams are looking healthy and huge this year than many in the past. Some areas have more than a dozen Rams together that will begin to assert their dominance in hopes of creating new offspring next Spring, Fathered by superior genetics. Here are some of this year's Healthiest looking Bighorn Rams as well as some up and comers.
Bighorn Sheep Rutting Season Begins in Canada's Rockies. Even young Rams become naturally more aggressive during this crucial time. Typically, one large Male will battle to dominate and protect his females from predators and other males.
A Younger Energetic Bighorn Ram showed up yesterday to Challenge this Areas' Bighorn Boss for Dominance. While Bighorn Rams are not shy about displaying their dominance, they are quite intelligent with calculating the effort needed to brush off a new Challenge to their mating rights. They can be very patient with harassment before committing fully into a dangerous Headbutting battle. If Ram battles are very long, they often attract attention from any nearby predators as it is common for exhaustion or injuries to create an opportunity. The loud noise generated by the head butting can echo quite far in Canada's Rocky Mountain valleys. This Ram battle took place at dusk with tricky lighting and very heavy wind conditions to overcome. It likely went on much longer into the evening. The Bighorn Boss remained the dominant Male in this particular spot today.
View more Bighorn Sheep(Ovis canadensis) rutting season videos with Wildlife On Video.
Bighorn Ram Fights »