welcome to animals wow tv today we're going to take a look at the clash of the grand
canyon's desert bighorn ramps stay until the end and see a spectacular sight of two
fully grown rams battling it out for herd dominance
besides the magnificent view one of the highlights of a trip to the grand canyon is spotting the
elusive desert bighorn sheep as their name suggests desert bighorn sheep are just like camels
they thrive in desert climates and can go for long periods without drinking water
long ago almost all the mountain ranges of the southwest u.s had large populations of bighorn
sheep some native american tribes considered these animals almost like domesticated sheep
hunting and eating them but due to over hunting loss of food and water in their natural habitats
mining operations and other man-made structures the population of these animals began to dwindle
conservation efforts stabilized in number but their population remains low wild sheep just
like ordinary sheep the adult females are called eos and the babies are called lambs
and the matured males are called ramps mature females have horns but these are significantly
smaller than those that grow on the heads of rams these sheep love to zigzag along rocky ledges
which makes the grand canyon an ideal habitat with its mix of rocky and steep terrain and wide open
spaces the sheep's sharp edged cloven hooves can cling to steep ledges that are as narrow
as two inches wide and if you happen to visit the grand canyon during fall then you're in for
a special treat because it's during this season when sparks fly among the ramps quite literally
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legends of the rams mature rams have triple thick skulls by the time they're eight years old their
horns achieve a full coil that is as thick as 30 inches and weighs as much as 30 pounds as to their
bodies big rams can exceed 300 pounds they may be herbivores preferring leaves grass and cacti
but just by looking at the majestic horns of these rams you'll know right away that they
are built for violent and very long battles for the right to lead a herd
and breed with mature ewas you don't want to mess with these rams when they're in heat
during the cold months of fall these animals usually live in herds of about 10 sheep
but those that live along the grand canyon gather into bigger herds some herds have as many as over
600 sheep for most a whole year these herds are made up of adult females lamps and immature males
the mature rams live separately from the rest of the herd for almost the whole year
they migrate as far as 20 miles away from the main herd and live peacefully in their own bachelor
herds rams that have matured rome even further to try their luck in mating with eos from other herds
because when november approaches testosterone levels climb sky high and all bets are off as
the rams join the main herd and begin the ritual of head butting for the right to be
the alpha ram of the group and mate with the female sheep during the pre-rut season
which spans from mid-october to mid-november the rams settle their rivalries in a non-violent way
just like ancient warriors they have a ritual to determine the hierarchy within their herd
when november is in full swing and two rams can't come to an agreement the inevitable clash happens
most of the time a ram that's just matured would challenge an older ram he will start
with some low blow body kicks and tongue flicks then an initial thrust is thrown out as a test
the young one delivers more kicks and tongue flicks to taunt his opponent
the older ram walks away as if he's not interested but his body's posture says otherwise if he were
human he'd be flexing his muscles and cracking his knuckles then he turns around propels his whole
body using hind legs and charges and the rams can charge at speeds of up to 35 to 40 miles per hour
the sound from the horns colliding can be heard several miles away the force of the impact could
kill a human but these rams are made of tougher parts they don't lock horns when they butted heads
they rear up and turn around for another charge they do this over and over again until one of them
submits to the victor a ram fight can last for hours these two fought for six hours look at this
one's tongue hanging out because of exhaustion they could barely walk to the small creek nearby
the winner of the battle may not be apparent to humans but these two know and they will follow
the rules of the battle at least during the fall season the rival of this fight is lucky
even though they're built for these battles some ram fights only stop when one of them is dead
there you have it the clash of the grand canyons bighorns have you seen these
magnificent rams in action in real life share your stories in the comments section below and
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you might want to check out our story about a man who discovered a gps tracker inside a dead eagle