. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1963 Blood: Behavior of a Bighorn Herd 85 2io 5 5- ALL GROUPS MONTH MJJASONDJFMA 56 69 28 8 16 41 32 74 43 55 27 41 RAM GROUPS MONTH M J 17 21 nnn SON 9 12 9 EWE GROUPS n MJJASONDJ FMA 37 48 15 4 7 16 4 20 25 38 19 32. Figure 2. Seasonal changes in grouping of bighorn sheep on Ashnola through April 1961. 27 9 10 ranges, May 1960 which twenty-three were four years old or older, three were three years old and two were two years old. Thirteen of the single observations were ewes, two were yearlings and one was unidentified. The large percentage
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1963 Blood: Behavior of a Bighorn Herd 85 2io 5 5- ALL GROUPS MONTH MJJASONDJFMA 56 69 28 8 16 41 32 74 43 55 27 41 RAM GROUPS MONTH M J 17 21 nnn SON 9 12 9 EWE GROUPS n MJJASONDJ FMA 37 48 15 4 7 16 4 20 25 38 19 32. Figure 2. Seasonal changes in grouping of bighorn sheep on Ashnola through April 1961. 27 9 10 ranges, May 1960 which twenty-three were four years old or older, three were three years old and two were two years old. Thirteen of the single observations were ewes, two were yearlings and one was unidentified. The large percentage of lone mature rams indicates that they are the least social members of the herd. Both Smith (1954) and Wishart (1958) recorded about twice the proportion of single individuals to total groups seen on Ashnola ranges. Most observations of lone sheep made by Smith were of rams, while those of Wishart were pre- dominantly yearlings. The average group size of for Ashnola bighorns is similar to that of recorded by Wishart in Alberta, and only slightly higher than the average of reported by Smith in Idaho. The extent to which average group size may vary with population density is not known however, and it is therefore difficult to make valid comparisons between herds. On winter ranges of relative population concentration there were, in a sense, no definite sheep groups. Fluctuations in group size and composition were frequent on such areas as groups spUt and rejoined, especially during the rutting period. At other seasons numerous combinations of sexes and ages formed relatively stable grdups. Some ram groups on small, disjunct wintering slopes remained constant in size for over two months in late winter and early spring. Figure 2 shows variation in group size of Ashnola bighorns by months. Ram, ewe and mixed groups vary considerably in their dynamics. Ewe groups were largest in June immediately after lambing. That is attributed to the. Please note that these images are
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