Valley of Fire Desert Bighorn Sheep – Las Vegas Tourist Attraction

It’s not very uncommon to see the Valley of Fire Desert Bighorn Sheep, but still you need a little luck – and we had it. Yay!!! :) I’ve seen and photographed them in a so to say – spring expedition into the wilderness around Las Vegas. This stunning Nevada State Park is one of the marvels of the of the “Sin City” outdoors, part of the near Las Vegas attractions. * Many of the images in this page are part of my Valley Of Fire gallery at Fine Art America, and available for art prints. Just click on them for options:

Valley Of Fire State Park, Nevada
Valley Of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire Desert Bighorn Sheep

The Desert Bighorn Sheep are similar to their relatives that live in non-deserted areas, with one significant difference. These animals can resist without water for a long period of time. BTW: The Bighorn Sheep is the state animal of Nevada.

Desert Bighorn Sheep
Desert Bighorn Sheep

While driving through the valley we suddenly noticed a traffic jam. From previous experiences visiting national parks we assumed that there must have been some wildlife ahead… Indeed, a hoard of sheep was crossing the main road in a bounding movement. * Judging from the size, I believe that these were females. There was a big line of cars on the road, and all the tourists were out trying to photograph the animals. We did the same :)

I thought they were already accustomed to people, since there are thousand of tourists visiting this place every day of the year – but the sheep definitely looked scared.
… and they were running fast too!
It’s incredible to see their ability to climb the steep, abrupt rock walls, even in zones that do not offer too much grip…

Here they are, already up high on the rocky hill. It was difficult to see them between bushes of the same color –  they were just blending into the environment!

The Bighorn sheep were trying to hide from the aggressors

There were quite a few of them… but not all crossed the road. They were so scared, that they didn’t really know which way to go to escape :(

Bighorn Sheep, Valley of Fire, Nevada
Bighorn Sheep, Valley of Fire, Nevada

Some more timid were still on the other side, trying to hide behind the bushes.

Look at this cute one waiting for the aggressors to go away…

I read that the Desert Bighorn Sheep are sociable and live together. – it’s interesting however to learn that Bighorn Sheep live in separate ram and ewe bands – they mix mainly in the mating season.

I can say I was really lucky to see and be able to photograph the Valley of Fire Desert Bighorn Sheep – what beautiful animals!


The word of the day: Expedition


For the fun of challenges:

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #18: Blending In – or Standing Out?

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