Wildlife Wednesday — BiG Horn Sheep

By Andy Ames, EVWC Board Member

45 years ago this week (March 17, 1977), 20 bighorn sheep were translocated from the Tarryall Range west of Pikes Peak to the Cow Creek area of the Estes Valley. These sheep were reintroduced to an area that had previously been home to bighorns until about 1960. The cause of their disappearance is unknown, but thought to be related to domestic livestock and forest succession. Today descendants of these bighorn sheep are thought to comprise the eastern portion of the Mummy Range bighorn herd, wintering in the lower elevations and then joining the rest of the herd high up in the Mummy Range during the warmer months. They are rarely seen, but as the snow melts off the south facing slopes they can sometimes be spotted in the lower elevations of the Estes Valley as they were this week. Note: the Cow Creek herd is distinct from the Big Thompson herd that resides in the Big Thompson Canyon between Estes Park and Loveland.

Bighorn ewe, or female, finding a little to nibble.

Bighorn lamb, now 9 or 10 months old.

Bighorn sheep are segregated by sex most of the year. This is a group of ewes accompanied by one young ram (upper left).

Do I detect a hint of green? Cow Creek Bighorn sheep are occasionally seen in the lower elevations of the Estes Valley from Fall River Road to Endovalley. Keep your eye out on the north side of the road as south facing slopes are warmer and green up earliest.

Home range of the Cow Creek portion of the Mummy Range herd of bighorn sheep as of 1982. Bighorn sheep tend not to be very exploratory and are very slow to expand their ranges. (Northern Wild Sheep and Goat Council 1982 Symposium, David R. Stevens. http://media.nwsgc.org/proceedings/NWSGC-1982/1982-Stevens.pdf)