Big Horn Welcoming Committee~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life

(click/tap to enlarge)

Near the Amagarosa Mountain Range Nevada.

Traveling now,

but will catch up soon.

Spent a good chunk of time with these beauties,

and their irresistible,

lambs.

Desert Big Horn Sheep are considered sensitive to extinction in the Southwest.

Beyond thrilling to hang with this herd.

The rain continues and they are healthy!

Cheers to you from The Southwest Desert Big Horns~

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142 thoughts on “Big Horn Welcoming Committee~”

  2. Anonymous

    The Tewa Tribe of the Taos Pueblo are stewards of a large herd of Bighorn that wander a large grazing area which encompasses the land on both sides of the Rio Grande Gorge, near the famous bridge. Sometimes you see the herd grazing the area. Tourists get very excited and take lots of photos if they are lucky enough to have an encounter. I’ll have to look out for them next time I drive to town, cause they must have some new-born members.

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    1. How wonderful and amazing is this! Makes me happy to know they have such dedicated protectors. I spent much of the day trailing these guys on foot at a respectful distance. It was just a mind boggeling experience. I am a lifelong desert rat. I have never seen such healthy herds and so many healthy happy lambs. It is because of the rains and the snows. It continues to rain and snow on us during this trip. We are in the desert and it is continuing. I am happy for the wildlife. Taos is magic land 🐐🐐

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    1. It is pretty amazing to experience. Roads up the mountains are closed due to excessive snow. It continues to rain everywhere. Temperatures are cold for this time of year. All the wildlife is so surprised and happy! დ

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  13. After the wild burro “greeting committee” now this big horn “welcoming committee.” You are truly VIPs! 🙂 Great shots and thanks for sharing images from your adventures in these wonderful places.

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    1. There is nothing in the world like a “sincere” Welcoming Committee, which is what you get when wild animals give you one, or two. I am blown away and happy with how healthy the wild ones are დ

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    1. They are essentially mountain goats, who have evolved to live in vertical desert mountains in the harshest circumstances possible. They are hunted, despite the odds against them. Seeing all the lambs, spending time with the healthy herd, it was just unprecedented დ

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    1. Derrick, thank you. I could not believe this experience. I took hundreds of photos. I am just now deleting. It was a healthy of Southwest Desert Big Horn Sheep. I still have to count the lambs! დ

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  18. What an amazing group of sheep and not like anything I’ve ever seen! I’m wary of normal rams here in England so would keep a respectable distance from these while enjoying their company. Wonder photos as ever and you capture the community beautifully, Cindy!

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    1. Thank you Annika. They are so rare to see here. So endangered. They have such harsh lives in the southwestern American desert. It was just incredible to see them so healthy დ

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    1. Yes, you would have! Because all my life they never let me near them. And then when they suddenly do, it is like the best party you would never have been invited too! You would have been there, right next to me დ

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  23. Thank you for sharing your time in nature with the rest of us via your lovely photos and well-chosen words, Cindy! I am always amazed that anything/anyone is able to live in a desert environment. They must be very resourceful beings…

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    1. Yes. The desert is my childhood friend/foe, but this experience blew me away. Southwest Desert Big Horn Sheep are rare, endangered. There were so many lambs who clearly wanted to pose! დ

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  25. Dear Cindy
    beautiful compositions, great portraits. What a pity to hear that they are endangered.
    Thanks for sharing. All the best
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    1. You just can’t believe how this experience was for me. I have photographed big horn sheep in so many other places, but these are a different desert sub-species, rare, endangered, shy, still hunted. They have evolved to live in the harshest desert, climbing loose rock vertical mountain faces, living without water, To see an entire healthy herd, spend time with them, not yet going back to the photos to count the lambs…..

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  26. Wow, you are so lucky to have found these beauties and captured them so beautifully, Cindy! The Amagarosa range is well north of Las Vegas, I’ve been up there just once. Beautiful work! 🥰😊

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      1. So this reply is to Eliza & Liz. (No thank you WP for clumping them together). Desert Bighorns are smaller, have longer legs, lighter bodies. They are adapted to sheer desert rock faces and can survive losing a large percentage of body weight due to lack of water over time. They are amazingly adapted creatures. Rare to see. Find. In my lifetime I have seen several. People like to hunt them even though they are finally a protected species, sort of. There are shoot one, save one, plans, that some people like. It is the unprecedented precipitation in the southwest that created this phenomona, and it is still raining and snowing. The herd was large, healthy, and there were so many lambs. I took hundreds of photos. Still thrilled completely.

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  33. You are totally fortunate to be able to travel and see these
    sweet animals. The country looks so emty. Just my kind.
    You must be just a wee bit tired from all this traveling.
    Maybe not. Regardless, your photos are great Carol!

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    1. I am still not over this whole experience. This isn’t like encountering a herd on the road in Canada. These are beleagured desert big horn sheep. Hunted, and depleted by years of drought. Shy. Elusive. Endangered. I have seen a few in my lifetime. There were around 8 lambs. I have hundreds of photos of the healthy herd. It continues to rain and snow on the mountain tops all over the southern west. I know it is atypical and possibly alarming, but I am just thrilled for our dry and dying habitat ღ

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    1. Yes!!! I am feeling totally happy. And Mr. Roadrunner in Death Valley was truly stunned I know his language, so I got lots of photos of him too. They live at The Holler and I know all their calls, but it surprised this guy Big Time as he is not accoustomed to roadrunner speaking humans! 😉

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    1. I have soooo many photos. Spent so much time with them. I am throwing out photos and feeling sad because Desert Big Horns in the Southwest are such rare and elusive creatures. They are clearly celebrating all the precipitation. It is still raining and snowing with more in the forecast ღ

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