Luxor Creek Outfitters - British Columbia Big Game Hunts & Guide Outfitting

(Ovis canadensis canadensis)

The Rocky Mountain variety of the bighorn
sheep species is frequently found in the alpine
regions of the Luxor Creek Wilderness. Noble and
statuesque, they are truly a treasure of the Cana-
dian Rockies.

The first direct ancestors of the modern North
American Bighorn Sheep species probably crossed the
Bering Strait from Siberia at least three glacial ages
ago, and then migrated south, driven by the advan-
cing ice sheets. They spread eastward during inter-
glacial periods, into the Rocky Mountains and Great
Plains from modern-day Canada, along the interior
mountains and plains of the United States to Northern
Mexico. During subsequent glaciation periods, the
Mountain Bighorn Sheep population was repeatedly
isolated from their Great Plains and desert relatives,
in effect, setting them on a different evolutionary

path that was directed by their specific environment.

Two main species of North American Bighorn Sheep emerged: Dall's Bighorn Sheep (Ovis dalli), known for their brilliant white coats, inhabit Alaska and Northwestern Canada. Northern Bighorn Sheep which range from British Columbia and Alberta down into the deserts of Northern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies of North American Bighorn which are the Rocky Mountain bighorn (Ovis canadensis canadensis) and the Desert Bighorn (Ovis canadensis mexicana). The Desert Bighorns are characterized by a lean build with a leggy stature and thin, curling horns.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, of the type found in the Luxor Creek Wilderness, range from Wyoming northward into the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. They are generally of a heav-
ier and stockier build as the frigid temperatures
inherent to the mountainous realms where they
dwell place a premium on large body size to gen-
erate heat. Mature rams average around 225-
250 pounds, with the largest tipping the scales at
around 300 pounds. For their size and stocky
physique, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are almost
impossibly agile and swift afoot over the steepest terrains and rocky crags. Their senses of sight and hearing are highly developed beyond human compre-
hension, such that the slightest movement on distant peaks is immediately seen.

The most noteworthy characteristic of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is the ram's immense, curling horns. Rams and ewes alike have horns, but the ram's

are far more massive, taking on a curling and spiraling shape. Horns are not shed annually, as with other big game animals, but continue to grow throughout the animal's life.

     The horns of the Rocky Mountain bighorn are superbly designed by nature to deliver and receive enormous blows. They grow from a solid, bony core, rooted in a thickly reinforced skull plate. Sheathed in keratin, a substance similar to the material found in hooves, bear claws and human fingernails, horns grow by adding an annual layer of keratin directly over the core. Each new sheath layer grows un-
                          der the previous year's layer which results in a
                               horn composed of a coiled series of nested

keratin cones. Horn growth is most rapid during the months of Spring, Summer, and Fall when food supplies are nutritious and plentiful. During the winter months, growth is drastically re-
duced due to the Winter body-chemistry changes and scarcity of food. This annual horn-growth hiatus produces a pattern of growth rings on the horns from which one is readily able to ascertain the animal's age within a year's accuracy. Horns also seem to play an important role in the bighorn's ability to regulate body temperature. Beneath the keratin layers of the horns, a dense web of veins and capillaries dilate, which has the effect of passing heat outward such that it dissipates over the surface area of the horn.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are generally conservative in nature, and lead highly structured societal lives based on traditional migration routes and rutting grounds that resident herds have used for centuries. Even in the face of depleted

food supplies, bighorns tend to stay where they are fa-
miliar, and have no great ambition to purposely colonize new territory. In order for bighorns to physically resort to exploring new areas, they must first see or smell something which proves that the new area is hospitable. Without this sensory evidence, new territories simply do not exist to the bighorns and they remain in familiar locales.

Rocky Mountain bighorns tend to range further into open grasslands and tundra in search of suitable grazing lands than do mountain goats. However, bighorns are highly specialized in alpine cliff life. The are attracted to open meadows in which to graze, but quickly fall back on rocky areas and precipices for protection when danger threatens.

Generally, bighorns live in bands that migrate and forage together for collective protection from predators such as cougars, wolves, coyotes, bears, lynx, bobcats and golden eagles. During the Spring and Summer months, bighorn bands are constantly moving and grazing along traditional routes, building fat stores for the Fall rut and Winter months. Overall, their movement is determined by advancing or receding snowpack, the availability of food, the location of accessible mineral licks, and of course the rutting and lambing seasons.

Throughout most of the year, Rocky Mountain bighorns live in two segregated and highly structured societies. The larger of the groups consists of ewes, lambs and immature rams, which spend their time grazing and moving from low Winter territories to high Summer ranges. A senior ewe (or ewes) tends to take a dominant role and determines the group's movements. The separate ram

bighorn societies are smaller and con-
sist exclusively of mature bachelors. These groups generally live at higher elevations than the females, and spend their time eating and sleeping in preparation for the coming rut and winter months. By the late Fall, the rams are never very far from the ewes. The rams create a highly structured society with one or two dominant males at the top of the pyramid, which are generally the largest animals with the most massive horns.

In late November / early December, the rutting ritual takes place. The Fall bighorn rut definitely ranks with one of the most exciting contests and spectacles in nature. Rutting almost always occurs on the same traditional rutting grounds that have been used over and over again for centuries.

The rut begins with a tournament of rams in which younger and smaller sheep battle with other members of the band, and are gradually eliminated from breeding. The end result is that one or a few of the dominant rams with the largest horns perform most of the breeding. As the tournament winds down, the contest turns into mano-a-mano combat between two of the largest rams. The posturing rams will

back away, each tipping his head from side to side to show the size of his horns to his opponent. Then, the two launch at each other in a hard charge and strike with a head-on crash that echoes again and again through the mountains like artillery blasts. The duel lasts until one ram concedes and walks, or staggers away.

Following the rut, breeding occurs and the groups segregate themselves once again. The ewes travel to rocky crags to give birth so as to provide the most protection possible, and to isolate newborns from predators. . . and then the whole cycle begins anew.

The Kootenay area has produced some of the largest bighorn trophies over the years, with eight of the largest trophies taken in the immediate region around Alberta. In the Fall of 2002, Luxor Creek Outfitters produced a ram that scored 177 3/8, just missing the Boone and Crockett book. Early season sheep-hunting requires extensive hiking and camping near the high alpine meadows, which not only provides for an unforgettable hunting experience, but also breathtaking panoramic views of the Luxor Creek Wilderness.