More WIld Animals

This is our first encounter with a Bighorn sheep and it was a big'un. FYI...Bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America with large horns. The horns can weigh up to 30 pounds, while the sheep themselves weigh up to 500 pounds. We found this one rubbing up against this van in a camping area.

Uh oh! He spotted us and decided to walk around the other side of the van.

Can you see him looking at us out of the corner of his eye? We were keeping our eyes on him too. Couldn't you see me calling GEICO and saying I have a dent in my car that was put there when a Bighorn sheep rammed my car?

Bighorn Sheep were amongst the most admired animals of the Apsaalooka, or Crow, people and what is today called the Bighorn Mountain Range was central to the Apsaalooka tribal lands. The Indians have a legend related to the Bighorn Sheep. A man possessed by evil spirits attempts to kill his heir by pushing the young man over a cliff, but the victim is saved by getting caught in trees. Rescued by Bighorn sheep, the man takes the name of their leader, Big Metal. The other sheep grant him power, wisdom, sharp eyes, sure footedness, keen ears, great strength, and a strong heart. Big Metal returns to his people with the message that the Apsaalooka people will survive only so long as the river winding out of the mountains is known as the Bighorn River. Oh my gosh...we got bears to look out for too! We've already been warned about interaction with Big Horn Sheep on signs when you come into the park. Don't engage them in any way and don't feed them. Now we gotta look out for bears. Waa hoo! Joe and I have yet to see a bear on previous visits to Yellowstone so maybe now we'll finally get to see one?

Then we spotted several of these wild animals. I believe it is called a Golden-mantled Ground-Squirrel. Although it has black-and-white body stripes, as do chipmunks, it lacks any stripes on the face. It is not a chipmunk, but in a genus with many other ground-squirrels. (I could be wrong about what this is though).

Shoshone National Forest is one of the only national forests in Wyoming where big game animals such as elk, moose, mule deer, whitetail deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, black bear and grizzly bear can be found. Other wildlife species include bald eagles, golden eagles, coyotes, waterfowl and songbirds.