{"id":77700,"date":"2019-10-31T05:30:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T11:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=77700"},"modified":"2019-10-31T07:03:08","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T13:03:08","slug":"an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/","title":{"rendered":"An Impressive Desert Bighorn Ram"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was happy to get this stately fellow against the skyline but it took a while before it happened.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve ever before posted mammals to Feathered Photography on consecutive days (yesterday I posted a coyote) and it wasn&#8217;t planned this time. Things just turned out that way.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"77701\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1256203934&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"destert bighorn sheep 5028 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-77701 size-full\" title=\"desert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5028-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I photographed this Desert Bighorn ram during a camping trip to the canyonlands of southern Utah in the fall of 2009. I wasn&#8217;t quite as close as I&#8217;d like but he was wary and nervous anyway. This head angle doesn&#8217;t do justice to the size and breadth of his horns but at least it provided a catch light in his eye.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"77702\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1256203936&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"destert bighorn sheep 5035 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-77702 size-full\" title=\"desert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5035-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When he turned his head more toward me we lost the catch light but this pose allows us to better appreciate his massive horns.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"77703\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1256203977&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"destert bighorn sheep 5045 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-77703 size-full\" title=\"desert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5045-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And soon he even allowed us a better look at his left horn curl.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"77704\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,643\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1256204004&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"destert bighorn sheep 5054 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-77704 size-full\" title=\"desert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley-400x286.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But not long after the previous photo was taken he skedaddled and he didn&#8217;t take a particularly easy route. He scampered up a steep incline and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"77727\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1256204004&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"destert bighorn sheep 5055b ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-77727 size-full\" title=\"destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5055b-ron-dudley-400x320.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>disappeared around the far side of the slope.<\/p>\n<p>Bighorn rams can be aged by counting the growth rings or annuli on their horns. Here we can distinctly see three of them on the ram&#8217;s left horn but determining age accurately is just a little more complicated than it might first appear. If you&#8217;re interested in seeing how it&#8217;s done please follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gohunt.com\/read\/skills\/how-to-accurately-age-bighorn-sheep#gs.d064vs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ron<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>One of the most common natural history errors I see people make is confusing antlers and horns. They have distinct differences and I always cringe a little inside when I see folks use the wrong terminology for one or the other. Some years ago I published a post on the subject that can be seen <a href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/02\/the-differences-between-antlers-and-horns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> if you have the interest.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Here&#8217;s the image techs for the photos in today&#8217;s post: 1\/1250-2000, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was happy to get this stately fellow against the skyline but It took a while before it happened.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/31\/an-impressive-desert-bighorn-ram\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[334,4803],"tags":[4801,3590,4799,3591,175,4800,4802,1906],"class_list":["post-77700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-desert-bighorn-sheep","tag-aging-bighorn-rams","tag-annuli","tag-desert-bighorn-sheep","tag-growth-rings","tag-horns","tag-ram","tag-red-rock-country","tag-southern-utah"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/destert-bighorn-sheep-5054-ron-dudley.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-kde","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}