California Big-horn Sheep - Ram

A good deal of hard but satisfying time and effort went into getting this shot. It's important to understand is the difference between this species' better known and more often photographed cousins, the Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep that live in Jasper National Park. Pictured here is a male the California Big Horn Sheep herds. The former are so tame that you can walk right up to them and photograph them. Not so with the latter. This particular herd of which this ram is a member, live in the triangle that starts where the Fraser and North Thomson rivers converge and runs north about forty kilometers or so. They're a fairly secretive herd compared to the Rocky Mountain variety. Approaching them, not to mention finding them, is quite difficult.

Going all the way up to Jasper was not economically or practically feasible for me at the time. As well, I already knew how easy it was to get shots of Big Horns there. Part of the thrill for me in wildlife photography was the challenge of getting the tough shots. Even so, this California herd was a three hour drive away for me. Fortunately, I had a friend who happened to live right at the edge of this herd's range and I could stay at and work from his home.

There was a herd of about thirty ewes and kids that hung around close to where my friend's home is. I probably spent five or six days tracking this herd. I tracked them all over two different mountainsides on either side of a steep gorge. The rams don't generally stay with the ewes and kids during the spring and summer so I had to look for them separately. I had to study and learn a lot about urine marks, droppings and hoof imprints in soil. It was good ol' fashioned hunting! I got a big pay off one day when I used the old circumnavigate them trick where I placed myself where they were heading and they came across me. I ended up surrounded by them. And as I found with shooting birds, if they come across you, they won't be nearly as easily spooked. So I spent a good chunk of an afternoon surrounded by them and shooting away. It was one of those transcendental experiences you can have when photographing nature.

The ram happened almost the same way. I found that the herd spent a lot of time at the base of a gorge at a watering hole. So one morning I just hiked down there and ... well, waited. As soooo often happens, I got caught up photographing one species (an American Dipper working the stream) when your target species comes along. I was shooting the Dipper when I suddenly got that odd feeling that something was watching me. I looked up and saw the ram just as you see him in the photo. And to top it off, he waited while I got me gear switched around and set up.

This is one of my all time favourite shots. I love the shot itself and that it was such a reward for all the tracking work I put in to getting it. Unlike those that get the easy stuff at Jasper, this was one well-earned shot.