[Update. Originally posted on 12/28/2009] Recently, I've been getting a bunch of those mysterious views that Flickr can't identify. I was disappointed by the original Light Box View, so I decided to re-process it and replace it, in order to share it with some of my more recent Flickr friends. The Light Box View is so much better, now, and well worth the effort to see it, IMO. [/End Update]

It was such a thrill to be able to capture these rare, magnificent animals in the wild! We had heard that they were in Borrego Palm Canyon (Borrego is Spanish for "sheep"), but we didn't really expect to see any, since they are so rare and since the park is so big. I had never seen one in the wild, in my life.

On the way out, though, about 1/2 way to the Oasis, I spotted some movement, way up the mountain, barely visible to the naked eye, which turned out to be sheep. So, after taking what seemed like several minutes to locate them in my viewfinder, I snapped away. But, on our return trip, they were much closer, and there were more of them. It was a band of rams and it was as much fun watching them as it was shooting them.

I might have this shot blown up and hang it on my wall. I want to keep up the family tradition. My grandfather had one hanging on his wall. Only his was a stuffed one that he had hunted and killed. I like my way, better. Come to think of it, his was probably from out of state, which is good, because the other species are not quite so rare.

View On Black | View Large On Black

Tags:   Desert Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Anza-Borrego Desert State Park California NaturesFinest NaturesElegantShots TheOriginalGoldSeal TopShots COTH

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View On Black or even more majestic if you View Large On Black. Reminds me of "America the Beautiful" - the purple mountains' majesty. One of the most memorable experiences in my life! It was such a moving experience that I was grateful that the bathrooms were open when we got back, even if they didn't have doors or a roof.

Tags:   Desert Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Anza-Borrego State Park California HPPS! FlickrsPortal NaturesElegantShots AnAwesomeShot DiamondClassPhotographer flickrdiamond SpecAnimal UltimateShot

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I know. Baby sheep are lambs, not kids, which are baby goats, but the line from Casablanca seems appropriate anyway. Call it poetic license.

My favorite Christmas preset last year, sent by the Great Shepherd in the sky, was the chance to photograph a flock, herd, trip, drove or mob of these magnificent, rare Desert Bighorn Sheep. This was on the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail, a three mile round trip trail to a delightfully shady desert oasis complete with California fan palms and a waterfall. This was truly a memorable event in my life.

Tags:   Desert Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Anza-Borrego State Park California BlueRibbonWinner SuperShot COTH

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Re-processed version of an earlier-posted image. I like this version a lot better, with its tighter cropping and bumping up of the saturation a bit, plus additional contrast in the green plant.

While working on this image, I got to wondering if someone had sawed off the ends of the horns, in order to prevent the rams from seriously injuring each other, since they are so rare. (As though head-butting each other with such tremendous force wasn't enough to be lethal.) If that was the case, I thought it was a bit unnatural and unattractive. By researching the Net, though, I found out that the rams actually rub the ends off their horns, themselves, in a process called "brooming," because as their horns grow longer, they block their vision. Knowing this, I now think that their horns look natural and as studly as the younger ones do with their shorter, sharper horns.

Magnificent animals, aren't they! They can fly up rocks like those in the background with ease and survive on plants like the one in the foreground, in an almost barren landscape, with very little water.

Tags:   Desert Big Horn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Brooming Borrego Palm Canyon Anza-Borrego State Park California ABigFave SpecAnimal

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This was shot in Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park, on the way back from the Oasis. Borrego is Spanish for sheep, so the park is named after the sheep. This sub-species of the Desert Bighorn Sheep is endangered, but seems to be making a comeback. A population of them was introduced into Lee Vining Canyon, recently, which makes this image surprisingly related to my recent trip there.

Tags:   Desert Bighorn Sheep Peninsular Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni Anza-Borrego State Park

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