bighorn sheep

[English]

A breed of wild sheep found in the Rocky Mountains. The natural range of Ovis canadensis was formerly in the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to Colorado, but is now reduced to areas where small bands are protected by inaccessible habitat or by refuges. The desert subspecies (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) ranges from Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Mexico. Another rare group inhabits the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

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