The Macho Mountain Sheep

Mountain sheep, like the Rocky Mountain Bighorn, Dall Sheep and Stone Sheep, like to settle their differences without fighting. They usually decide which male will be the leader by just comparing the size of their horns. The bigger the horns, the bigger the position a ram will have in the flock. Their horns can grow to be really large — over 13 kilograms! But if you’ve got two males with horns that look about the same size, they’ll often rut to decide who comes out on top. First, they walk backwards about 12 kilometres. Then they race towards each other and crash into one another. WHAM!!! The sound can be heard over a kilometre away. They might repeat the rut a few times before a winner is decided, and then that ram will get the privilege of mating with the ewes (females).