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grasslandBighorn sheep inhabit remote mountain and desert regions. They are
restricted to semiopen, precipitous terrain with rocky slopes, ridges,
and cliffs or rugged canyons [
6,
26]. Forage, water, and escape terrain
are the most important components of bighorn sheep habitat [
26].
Winter range - Generally, bighorn sheep have two distinct, separate
summer and winter ranges [
6]. Most of the year is spent on the winter
range, where the elevation is typically below 10,826 feet (3,300 m).
The aspect is usually south or southwest. Rams often venture onto the
more open slopes, although rugged terrain is always nearby. Desert
bighorn sheep rarely stray far from the base of a mountain and usually
are found on eastern aspects, where they use dry gullies. During
severe weather, if snow becomes unusually deep or crusted, bighorn sheep
move to slightly higher elevations where wind and sunshine have cleared
the more exposed slopes and ridges [
6].
Spring range - The spring range is generally characterized by the same
parameters as the winter range. However, bighorn sheep begin to respond
to local greenups along streambanks and valleys. Bighorn sheep use
areas around saltlicks heavily in the spring. Preferred lambing range
is in the most precipitous, inaccessible cliffs near forage, and
generally has a dry, southern exposure [
6].
Summer range - In the summer, bighorn sheep are mostly found grazing on
grassland meadows and plateaus above timber. In early summer south and
southwestern exposures are most frequently utilized; however, in the
case of the desert bighorn sheep the eastern aspect is preferred. By
late summer the more northerly exposures are preferred [
6]. Snow
accumulation seems to be the principal factor that triggers bighorn
sheep to move from summer to winter ranges [
26].
Water - Bighorn sheep obtain water from dew, streams, lakes, springs,
ponds, catchment tanks, troughs, guzzlers, and developed seeps or
springs [
26]. Alkaline water is not suitable. Bighorn sheep spend most
of their time within 1 mile (1.6 km) of water but have been located as
far as 2 miles (3.2 km) from water. Water sources more than 0.3 mile
(0.5 km) from escape terrain or surrounded by tall dense vegetation are
avoided by bighorn sheep [
26]. Desert bighorn sheep primarily utilize
ephemeral water sources. They may drink every day if water is nearby,
but may go without water for up to 14 days in the dry season. Since
water is one of the major limiting factors of desert bighorn sheep,
management agencies have installed cisterns and other water developments
in critical areas [
6].
