Friday, October 30

Bighorn Sheep Traffic Jam

Thanks for all the nice comments for yesterday's post! My lovely, eventful drive this past Monday ended quite nicely too...I expected to see the bighorn sheep herd just about a mile further E on Hwy 44, when I came upon this congestion next to a private drive w/ a closed gate...

...If you look closely you can count five sets of ram horns...

The herd was spooked by a man in a pickup at the closed gate (to the right, out of sight) and decided to cross the road...


...What a handsome ram! He seemed to be the alpha male...he does have very long horns, which indicate his level of maturity...look closely to see just how long that right horn is...


...Does this look like a promotional, posed photo or what?! If you look really close you can see that the ewe is wearing a radio collar, like the female antelope I keep seeing in Custer Park. These sheep are not contained within any park, however. They just really like this area of the Black Hills, just SW of Rapid City.

4 comments:

  1. Those guys are awesome animals..you sure don't see any of them roaming around here..it is so cool to look at your blog and see all the different wildlife that is out there compared to what is here..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes it does look like the perfect promotional. Contact their offices and offer to sell. Push yourself a little. Sister needs a nice Christmas present. You could buy a new lens - wide angle etc. L.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have geese and ducks that roam around and cross the highways, but a group of large rams is more exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your blog makes me want visit the Dakotas...and maybe live there if it didn't snow.
    Your header photo is fabulous. I love all of your photos.

    ReplyDelete