Bighorn
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Bighorn
, river, United Statesbighorn
, in zoologyBighorn
(Ovis canadensis), also bighorn sheep, an even-toed ungulate of the family Bovidae. The male bighorn is about 178 cm long, stands about 105 cm tall at the shoulders, and weighs about 140 kg. Females are much smaller, weighing little more than half as much as the males. The horns of males are about 111 cm long (up to the bend) and about 36 cm in circumference; the horns of females are smaller. Bighorns inhabiting the Far North are very light in coloration; bighorns in the southern parts of the range are various shades of brown.
Bighorns are common in Northeast Asia and North America, as far south as Mexico. There are four subspecies in the USSR: Kamchatka, Okhotsk, Yakutsk, and Noril’sk (Putorana). The animals are gregarious and polygamous. They live on treeless slopes of mud volcanoes and coastal cliffs. They feed on trees, shrubs, grasses, and lichens. Mating takes place in November and December, and the female gives birth to one or, less commonly, two young in May or June. Bighorns are commercially valued for their meat, skin, and horns.