Yesterday I spotted this small herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep as I drove home through Bighorn Sheep Canon here in Fremont Co.,CO (near where John Christo wants to put his 'over the river' panels which is projected to draw several hundred thousand people to this canyon in a two period). I didn't try to get out of my car but as soon as I turned off my engine the herd starting moving away even though I was about 75 feet from them.
Just goes to demonstrate that though Bighorn sheep will often stand in place even when people are near, that depends upon the tolerance level of the specific sheep and such factors as whether they have young lambs with them as this herd did (actually there were 2 lambs with these 4 ewes but the other lamb was out of the photo). Not all creatures engage in fight or flight, some just freeze in place--this species has demonstrated that their heart rates go up when people are near with evidence that this makes them susceptible to disease later in the year. Oddly some people will hear this from a Div of Wildlife officer yet continue to believe not the facts but what they want to believe-that the sheep are not bothered in any way. SeEtta
Yesterday I spotted this small herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep as I drove home through Bighorn Sheep Canon here in Fremont Co.,CO (near where John Christo wants to put his 'over the river' panels which is projected to draw several hundred thousand people to this canyon in a two period). I didn't try to get out of my car but as soon as I turned off my engine the herd starting moving away even though I was about 75 feet from them.
Just goes to demonstrate that though Bighorn sheep will often stand in place even when people are near, that depends upon the tolerance level of the specific sheep and such factors as whether they have young lambs with them as this herd did (actually there were 2 lambs with these 4 ewes but the other lamb was out of the photo). Not all creatures engage in fight or flight, some just freeze in place--this species has demonstrated that their heart rates go up when people are near with evidence that this makes them susceptible to disease later in the year. Oddly some people will hear this from a Div of Wildlife officer yet continue to believe not the facts but what they want to believe-that the sheep are not bothered in any way. SeEtta
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