Bighorn+Sheep

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By Chad L.

The Bighorn Sheep is an endangered animal that lives throughout the western United States. The Bighorn went on the endangered speices list in 1998. The Bighorn Sheep is a large mammal that lives in the mountains. Males, called rams, usually weigh more than 500 pounds. Thirty of which are the weight of the horns. Females, called ewes, usually weigh around 200 pounds. The female's horns are much smaller than the male's. Bighorns are about 5 to 6 feet long. Bighorn sheep inhabit the mountains from Canada to Mexico.

In the winter, Bighorn herds move to lower-level mountain pastures where they graze. These animals eat grass, seeds, and plants. The males butt heads with their enormous horns to show their dominance to females in mating. The sound is so loud, it can be heard across the mountains. Their thick skulls protect them from injury. Scientists call this head butting, "clashing." About every 2 months a lamb will be born. In 4 to 6 months a lamb will be born.

The Bighorn Sheep came to America from Russia and Siberia crossing the Bering Strait. The population used to be in the millions, but around 1900 the population dropped to several thousand. In America, the Boy Scouts of Arizona have tried to help the numbers. The Bighorn Sheep has become endangered for a few reasons. Disease is one cause for the listing. Bighorns are highly vulnerable to diseases that domestic sheep carry, such as scabies and pnemonia. Human disturbance, habitat loss, and predation are other causes. Predation means they are hunted by other animals such as coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions. Also, lamb recruitment has not done well either. To help them, we can stop destroying their habitat, and stop hunting them as wild game.

The Bighorn Sheep currently live in the western United States. But, if we don't do something to help the Bighorn, it will be gone. We could stop destroying their habitat and stop hunting them as wild game. We can't afford another animal going extinct