Dall Sheep

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Dall Sheep

The Dall Sheep (originally Dall's Sheep), Ovis dalli, is a species of sheep

Ovis

A sheep is an individual of any of the five or more mammal species that comprise the genus Ovis, part of the goat antelope subfamily. Sheep are bovids and ruminants, meaning they chew cud....
native to northwestern North America, ranging from white to slate brown in color and having curved yellowish brown horns. There are two putative subspecies: the northern Dall Sheep proper (Ovis dalli dalli) which is almost pure white, and the more southern Stone Sheep (also spelled Stone's Sheep) (Ovis dalli stonei), which is a slaty brown with some white patches on the rump and inside the hind legs.

Research has shown that the use of these subspecies designations is questionable.

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The Dall Sheep (originally Dall's Sheep), Ovis dalli, is a species of sheep

Ovis

Pelly Mountains

The Pelly Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon, Canada. It has an area of 44014 km2 and is a subrange of the Yukon Ranges which in turn form part of the Pacific Coast Ranges....
and Ogilvie Mountains of Yukon Territory. Mitochondrial DNA evidence has shown no molecular division along current subspecies boundaries, although evidence from nuclear DNA may provide some support. Also at the species level current taxonomy is questionable because hybrdization between Ovis dalli and Ovis canadensis has been recorded in recent evolutionary history.

The latter half of the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
binomial

Binomial

In elementary algebra, a binomial is a polynomial with two terms—the sum of two monomials—often bound by parenthesis or brackets when operated upon....
dalli is derived from William Healey Dall (1845-1927), an American naturalist. The common name Dall Sheep or Dall's Sheep is often used to refer to the species Ovis dalli. An alternative use of common name terminology is that Thinhorn Sheep refers to the species Ovis dalli, while Dall's Sheep and Stone's Sheep refer to subspecies Ovis dalli dalli and Ovis dalli stonei.

The sheep inhabit the subarctic

Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang....
mountain ranges of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
, the Yukon

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
Territory, the Mackenzie Mountains

Mackenzie Mountains

The Mackenzie Mountains are a mountain range forming part of the Yukon-Northwest Territories boundary between the Liard River and Peel River rivers....
in the western Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
, and northern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
. Dall sheep are found in relatively dry country and try to stay in a special combination of open alpine ridges, meadows

Montane grasslands and shrublands

Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude grasslands and shrublands around the world....
, and steep slopes with extremely rugged ground in the immediate vicinity, in order to escape from predators that cannot travel quickly through such terrain.

Male Dall Sheep have thick curling horns. The females have shorter, more slender, slightly curved horns. Males live in bands which seldom associate with female groups except during the mating season in late November and early December. Lambs are born in May.

During the summer when food is abundant, the sheep eat a wide variety of plants. During the winter diet is much more limited and consists primarily of dry, frozen grass and sedge stems available when snow is blown off, lichen and moss. Many Dall Sheep populations visit mineral licks during the spring and often travel many miles to eat the soil around the licks.

The primary predators of Dall Sheep are wolves

Gray Wolf

The grey wolf or gray wolf , also known as the timber wolf or simply wolf, is the largest wild member of the Canidae family. It is an ice age survivor originating during the Late Pleistocene around 300,000 years ago....
, coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the prairie wolf, is a species of canid found throughout North America and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States, and Canada....
s, black bear

American black bear

The American Black Bear is the most common bear species native to North America. It lives throughout much of the continent, from northern Alaska south into Mexico and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean....
s, and Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear ', also known as the silvertip bear, is a subspecies of brown bear ' that lives in the uplands of western North America....
s; Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known bird of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas....
s are predators of the young.

Dall Sheep can often be observed along the Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II and connects the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon, Yukon....
at Muncho Lake and at Sheep Mountain in Kluane National Park and Reserve

Kluane National Park and Reserve

Kluane National Park and Reserve are two units of Canada's national park system, located in the extreme southwestern corner of Yukon Territory. Kluane National Park Reserve was established in 1972, covering 22,016 square kilometres....
, as well as near Faro, Yukon

Faro, Yukon

Faro is a small town in the central Yukon, Canada, formerly the home of the largest open pit lead-zinc mine in the world as well as a significant producer of silver and other natural resource ventures....
(Fannin's Sheep).