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

Clouds Forming Over the Badlands

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota is one of those places that defies description.  The park itself covers more than 240,000 acres, much of which is characterized by erosion-carved buttes, pinnacles and other geologic formations.  The vastness of these features cannot be adequately captured in a photograph, and the wide open sky above adds to the feeling of limitless space.

Scattered along the roadsides through the park are overlook points that afford the visitor breathtaking views.  They also are excellent spots for weather-watching, offering unobstructed views across the surrounding prairies that seem to go on forever.

On the morning this photo was taken the sky was as clear a blue as can be imagined.  By midday this picture-perfect fleet of clouds had accumulated and the first of several passing rain squalls appeared over the buttes.