bighorn sheep
species of sheep native to North America
Species
Least Concernvia IUCN
Research
584 papers- Bighorn sheep pneumonia: sorting out the cause of a polymicrobial disease.Preventive veterinary medicine · 2013
- Ancient hybridization patterns between bighorn and thinhorn sheep.Molecular ecology · 2021
- Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) with Higher Whole Blood Selenium Levels Have Improved Survival and Altered Immune Responses.Journal of wildlife diseases · 2024
- Domestic sheep and bighorn sheep carry distinct gammaherpesviruses belonging to the genus Macavirus.Virus research · 2019
- Bighorn sheep associations: understanding tradeoffs of sociality and implications for disease transmission.PeerJ · 2023
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
Article
The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) or bighorn is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb); the sheep typically weigh up to 143 kg (315 lb). Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: O. c. sierrae.
Sheep originally crossed to North America over the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia; the population in North America peaked in the millions, and the bighorn sheep entered into the mythology of Native Americans. By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand due to diseases introduced through European livestock and overhunting.
Gallery (12)
Connections
Categories
Extant Middle Pleistocene first appearancesFauna listed on CITES Appendix IIFauna of the California chaparral and woodlandsFauna of the Western United StatesIUCN Red List least concern speciesMammals described in 1804Mammals of CanadaMammals of MexicoMammals of the United StatesNative American cuisineOvisPleistocene mammals of North America