Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep - 02.21.15
This post is part of our special NOTCOT Alberta Great Escape series thanks to our friends at Travel Alberta. In Part I, we roadtripped up from LA for a fall adventure. In Part II, we are experiencing all that Alberta Winter has to offer! Follow the series to see what inspires us along the way!
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep! Absolutely surreal to see them walk across the highway and jump over the railing towards the frozen lake. Usually the males and female herds are separate unless it’s mating season, but somehow we found the group of females and young on the right side of the highway, only to look up and see the males crossing the highway not far ahead. Remember on our last trip to Jasper we saw SO much wildlife, and Bucky got his first introduction to so many species. Well this trip, perhaps because it’s winter and snowing quite a bit, we haven’t seen nearly as many creatures - so when we came across this large herd of bighorn sheep, our jaws dropped. The backdrop of a frozen Abraham Lake (which is apparently known for its frozen methane bubbles beneath the surface!) and snow falling all around us, made the scene all the more dramatic. Take a look at our encounter on the next page!
First we slowed for the females and young - some of which were just standing in the middle of the highway.
As we passed, they definitely got curious.
Then we headed up and pulled over near the rams, who had just walked across the highway and hopped over the barrier. Lined up perfectly they started digging around in the snow to get to what i assume is frozen grass below?
Here’s a video of them in action!
And as more cars started to come by, we decided it wasn’t safe to stand in the snow covered highway any longer… as i started to walk away these two turned and stared right at me!
