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Sheep Outside of Jasper National Park, Alaska
Photograph copyright: Jesse Keller - all rights reserved. Used with permission. |
Dall Sheep photographed at Turnagain Arm during Alaska travel vacation.
Photograph copyright: Shellie Raney - all rights reserved. Used with permission. |
Dall Sheep photographed at Turnagain Arm during Alaska travel vacation.
Photograph copyright: Shellie Raney - all rights reserved. Used with permission. |
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DALL'S SHEEP FACTS
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Description
There are two subspecies of Dall's Sheep. Ovis dalli dalli has white or creamy white wool, sometimes with grey patches on middle of back. Some have black tail and some have white tail. Ovis dalli stonei has a grey to black wool with white underside and white rump patch. In both subspecies, females have slender horns, while males have large stout curled horns. The horns are amber or almost transparent.
Other Names
Stone's Sheep, Stone Sheep
Size
Length: males 1.3 - 1.8m; females 1.3 - 1.6m. Males weight up to 110kg, about twice the weight of females who grow to 50kg.
Environment
undisturbed rugged mountains in arctic and sub-arctic, feeding on nearby grassland and meadows. They use steep, rugged cliffs and outcrops to escape from predators.
Food
grasses and shrubs
Breeding
A single lamb is born after gestation period of about 175 days. Lambs are weaned after 3 - 5 months of age, and they grow to 27-30 kg by 9 months of age
Range
mountain ranges of northeast, central and southern Alaska, as well as in the Yukon Territory, the northwest corner of British Columbia
Notes
The horns of Dall's Sheep grow throughout the life of the sheep forming rings inside the horn like tree rings. The males have a double layer of bone on their skulls to help absorb impacts of head clashes during battles between males
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Artiodactyla | | Family: | Bovidae | | Genus: | Ovis | | Species: | dalli | | Common Name: | Dall's Sheep |
Relatives in same Genus
Bighorn Sheep (O. canadensis)
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