ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN SHEEP
In late summer and autumn, bighorn sheep have a brown coat with a contrasting ivory-white rump patch, a white muzzle and white trim on the back of all four legs. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) are more widely distributed throughout the United States than Canada and are noted for their ability to survive incredibly diverse […]
MOUNTAIN GOAT
Mountain goats have the thickest and longest pelage of any North American ungulate aside from the muskox. Despite its name a mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) is actually not a member of the actual goat genus. Mountain goats belong to a group known as goat-antelopes. The natural range of the mountain goat includes southern Alaska and […]
CANADA MOOSE
Moose are herbivores that need to eat up to 20 kg of vegetation a day to fuel their nearly 10,000 calorie diets. In North America, the Canada moose (Alces alces andersoni) subspecies is exceeded in size only by the Alaska Yukon subspecies. Males are distinguished by carrying the largest antlers of any mammal, which can […]
WHITE-TAILED DEER
White-tailed deer are tan or reddish-brown in the summer, and grayish-brown in the winter. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virignianus) is the most widely distributed of North America’s large mammals. It can be found as far south as the southern tip of North America, and as far north as Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. They also […]
NORTH AMERICAN BISON
Bison can weigh more than a ton and stand up to 2 meters tall. Bison (Bison bison), also known as buffalo, are very large animals with a shaggy dark brown mane. Bison can weigh more than a ton and stand up to 2 meters tall, and inhabit the northeastern regions of British Columbia and the […]
COUGAR (MOUNTAIN LION)
The cougar mainly preys on deer, but may also prey on bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, moose, beaver, porcupine, mice, rabbits and birds. Cougars (Felis concolor), also known as mountain lions are only found in the Western Hemisphere. Depending on food availability, the cougar generally resides in remote, wooded and rocky places, though it may […]
MOUNTAIN CARIBOU
Mountain caribou live in areas where the snow is too deep to dig through and eat the tree lichen of old forest growth for eight months a year. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) reside in some of the most severe environmental conditions in the world. In Canada there are three subspecies of caribou: peary caribou, woodland caribou […]
CALIFORNIA BIGHORN SHEEP
The horns of a California bighorn have more of an outward flare than those of the Rocky Mountain bighorn. California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) inhabit the southwest interior of British Columbia and extend southward on the east side of the Coast and Cascade Mountains into northern California. Normally a dark stripe extends from the […]
DALL’S SHEEP
Dall’s sheep live in parts of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the extreme northwestern corner of BC. Clinging to sheer rock faces or sedately grazing at the tree line, thinhorn sheep are a true mammal of the mountains. There are two subspecies of thinhorn sheep, Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli) and Stone’s sheep (Ovis dalli stonei), […]
STONE SHEEP
The Stone sheep is somewhat larger and chunkier than the Dall’s sheep, with a larger and relatively wider skull, and heavier, darker-colored horns. A mature adult Stone ram (Ovis dalli stonei) has a body weight of about 180 to 220 pounds, but occasionally they can be 250 pounds or more. Females (ewes) are considerably smaller. […]