Desert vs. Rocky Mountain

[Roy]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-25-06 AT 11:18AM (MST)[p]I was hoping some of you sheep hunters could give me some tell-tale signs for distinguishing between a Rocky Mountain Bighorn and a Desert Bighorn mount. One of the local sporting good stores in my area has the grand slam on the wall but I think they have the Rocky Mtn and the Desert switched around. Both mounts are very similar but what do I need to look for to be sure? Pics would be very helpful. I am trying to get some pics of these two rams to post but don't have them yet.




UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[mtsheep]

most of the time-- the desert sheep have very small diameter neck, and the rocky have much larger neck and body

 

[Cozmo8]

Some times it is very difficult to tell the difference. As mentioned earlier neck size is typically a good indicator. What you are seeing in your sporting goods store is probably a small Rocky and a big Desert. Here is a picture of a small Rocky I shot last year.

 

[Roy]

Thanks for the tips and the pic - keep them coming. Also - is it typical for the Rocky Mountain to have a very light color phase (much like the top photo on the sidebar to the left) whereas the Desert doesn't or is it typical of both? I think part of the problem may be also that the mount they have for the Rocky Mountain is a poor mount and the one they have for the Desert is a light color phase. Could this be mixing me up or mixing them up?

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[littlebighorn]

UTROY
I hunted bighorns in Wyoming and I was surprised to see how light colored the Rocky Mt variety can be. Some sheep were brown while others were gray/tan. I have also seen the same variation in color in Utah Deserts that I have looked at. Actually Utah Deserts seem to me to be darker in color than the typical Nevada or Arizona sheep. The bottom line is each variety can vary widely in cape color, so that isn't going to help you identifying differences.