As bighorns age, they develop rings on their horns, similar to growth rings around a tree. Known as brooming, older rams will often file down their horns on rocks and break pieces off, so that they have an unobstructed view of predators using their wide set, amber eyes.
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Bighorn sheep aging by using annuli rings. The ring is created when the animal is under stress, which is usually caused by rutting or mating rituals in which they are not thinking about feeding and maintaining their nutrition.
I think it can be a little tricky in distinguishing the rings. If I am right this is a 7 year old ram
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Whether you're sitting on the beach, hiking in the mountains, or even relaxing in a rocking chair on your own front porch, watching a breathtaking sunset never gets old.
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Buffalo shed their heavy coats in the spring and they assist the process by rubbing against anything handy. With few trees on the prairie, erratics, large free-standing rocks left by the glaciers, became favourite rubbing sites and many were worn smooth by the attention of thousands of buffalo over the years. When telegraph poles were first placed across the plains, the buffalo were delighted, but the poles tended to give way when leaned into by 680-kg (1,500-lb) animals. The telegraph companies, not amused at losing miles of line, countered by installing bradawls, sharp pointed spikes intended to discourage buffalo rubbing. It was a mistake, as reported in a Kansas newspaper:
"For the first time they came to scratch sure of a sensation in their thick hides that thrilled them from horn to tail. They would go fifteen miles to find a bradawl. They fought huge battles around the poles containing them, and the victor would proudly climb the mountainous heap of rump and hump of the fallen and scratch himself into bliss until the bradawl broke, or the pole came down. There has been no demand for bradawls from the Kansas region since the first invoice.”
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