Mountain Sheep 



Montana Department of Commerce 



Mountain Sheep ("Bighorn"): 



Ovis canadensis 



These animals have a quite different hab- 

 itat than the mountain goats— they prefer 

 both lower and more open areas, especially 

 dense grasslands near steep cliffs which 

 they use for escape cover. Their tawny 

 brown coats allow them to blend in with 

 the rocky terrain. In the last part of the 

 19th century into the first part of the 20th. 



they were hunted until their numbers were 

 greatly reduced. The magnificent curled 

 horns of the adult males made them sought 

 after by trophy hunters. This, as well as 

 diseases contracted from domestic sheep 

 that came into their range, lowered their 

 population. Now on the increase, bighorns 

 have been transplanted into several moun- 

 tainous areas in Montana. 



