A Family of Bighorn Sheep in Badlands National Park

Pair of Bighorn Sheep, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

While driving through Badlands National Park in South Dakota we came upon what appeared to be a nuclear family of Bighorn Sheep: a young ram, his apparent mate, and a small lamb.  In the mountains near our house in Colorado, we are accustomed to seeing Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) in herds. Occasionally we see a lone ram.  But in our experience, a threesome such as this is an unusual sight.

Now, there may have been more sheep nearby that we did not see.  These three individuals were quite near to the road, so perhaps the rest of the herd was just over the ridge that rose up behind them.  But that day we saw only these two young adults, a male and a female, and the little lamb.  The lamb was young enough that the vestige of its umbilical cord was still visible on its belly!

Below are some close-up photos of each of the individual sheep.

Bighorn Sheep ram

Bighorn Sheep ewe

Bighorn Sheep lamb

Yellow Cinquefoil in Rocky Mountain National Park

Close-up of a yellow Cinquefoil flower

It is wildflower season in the mountains of Colorado.  Flowers of every color imagineable are scattered in meadows, on mountain slopes, beside streams, and along hiking trails.  I spotted this pretty yellow Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.) at an elevation of nearly 8,700 feet, beside a trail  near Sprague Lake  in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Cinquefoils belong to the Rose family (Rosaceae).  The Cinquefoil in these photos -- exact species uncertain -- grows low to the ground.  Other species have stems that may be more than a foot tall.  In some areas Cinquefoils are considered to be noxious weeds, invading gardens and agricultural fields.  To hikers in the high Rockies, these Cinquefoils are seen simply as delightful yellow wildflowers.

Yellow Cinquefoil growing in Rocky Mountain National Park