SynapsidaBovidae

Ovis canadensis

Bighorn sheep

Ovis canadensis skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, length ~1.7 m.
Scale bar = 1 meter
Taxon
Ovis canadensis Shaw, 1804
Reconstructed length
~1.7 m (5.5 feet)
Sex
Male
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2011
Clade
  1. Synapsida
  2. Therapsida
  3. Mammalia
  4. Placentalia
  5. Laurasiatheria
  6. Artiodactyla
  7. Bovidae

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The bighorn sheep, a wild sheep of the mountains of western North America, named for the massive curling horns of the rams. Males use these horns in head-butting contests for mates, which recent studies show causes concussion-like symptoms, and eventually CTE-like damage to the brains of older males. As a species they are sure-footed climbers, often favoring steep, rocky terrain that keeps them out of reach of most predators.