Taking a trip outside of the Peak-to-Peak region this week with a look at some of the newest members of the band, the bighorn sheep lambs (the term Band being the official name for a group of bighorns). Along with so many other wild babies coming into the world, the first lambs of the year have begun to arrive and are beginning to make their wobbly way among the adults. It doesn’t take long for them to “gain their feet” as stability and agility is deeply embedded in their genetic code, and within a few days after birth they begin to follow their mama’s and siblings around what might be considered treacherous terrain even for a human adult. Birthing often takes place on steep canyon walls to protect the vulnerable babies from predators, forcing them to learn the dangerous navigation immediately.
These tiny fuzz-balls can be quite amusing to watch as they frolic and play among the rocks. From May through July babies will be born and can be observed in their playful antics in many canyons and peaks throughout the mountains. They sometimes even pretend to square off and rub heads, seemingly like their fathers who are famous for their charging and bashing of heads during the rut season in the fall. Like many wild babies, they have a lot of energy and often succumb to the “zoomies”, spontaneous bursts that cause them to run and hop about with no apparent provocation, quite hilarious and adoravle to observe.
It’s always a pleasure to see these newest members, knowing that the species as a whole in Colorado has had an unsteady population level since the early 1900’s. Initially their numbers dwindled drastically due to the influx of diseases carried by domestic wildlife as well as over-hunting. The 1940’s brought some of the first relocation projects, taking sheep from healthier herds that lived further away from domestic animals in attempts to encourage a rebound in ill-affected herds elsewhere in the state. Those efforts have continued intermittently ever since, as while hunting is now well regulated, they are still largely impacted by sickness from domestic sheep that can decimate large numbers in a band.
While we don’t enjoy their presence in Boulder or Gilpin county, these amazing animals can be found in a few different locations, all within about an hour to an hour and a half away. South of Estes Park enjoys a small band and Rocky Mountain National Park is home to a band that can be seen around Sheep Lakes in the spring as well as a few rams that wander along Trail Ridge Road throughout the summer. Big Thompson Canyon east of Estes Park on the way to Loveland has a larger band of about 70 or more that can be found along the road or high up on the canyon walls nearly year-round. Mt Evans southeast of Idaho Springs hosts a small band that shares space with the mountain goats at the summit in the summer, and another larger band can also be found in Waterton Canyon in the foothills southwest of Denver.
Originally published in The Mountain-Ear
