In some ways, this was just a fairly simple and basic day with the bighorn herd that I've been regularly photographing. In other ways, it was truly incredible. On one hand there was no major drama, no champion rams appeared and nothing terribly remarkable occurred. On the other hand, this group continues to surprise me with just how close they will approach. Whenever wildlife deliberately approaches and decides to sit down near me, I'm ecstatic -- even if the pictures aren't the very best. Today was one of the closest encounters with the group to-date.
The herd has dispersed into 2-3 groups that are a couple miles apart at the moment. Eleven of the ~22 remain at the heart of their winter habitat while at least six ewes have been grazing at lower elevations and the biggest two rams (and a few other ewes) are presumably somewhere in between.
This core group of eleven seemed slightly less confident a week ago and my interpretation was that it was because the big ram, Atlas, wasn't around perhaps. Or, maybe without some of the other elder members, they're feeling a bit more vulnerable? It's hard to say, but their body language last week suggested they were less comfortable with me in the distance. I didn't press my luck and instead remained further away than usual for several days. I started seeing improvements in their demeanor over the week and on this particular day, they put to rest any question of their comfort level.
It began as I hiked up the cliffs and noticed a single ewe a few hundred feet away and quite a bit higher up the canyon cliffs. I could tell that she could see me, but I could only see her face peaking out above the rocks. I paused and waited to see if there would be any reaction on her part. She was calm and I deduced that she was laying down. It was a good sign that she hadn't stood up, because that would indicate she was concerned/alarmed by my presence.
I moved laterally until I could see her whole body. She was indeed seated on a boulder and seemed content on soaking up the sun. I stayed put, and just waited to see how things might play out. Before long, others in the herd became visible as they grazed around on the steep terrain. They knew I was below them and over the course of 3+ hours, they drifted down directly towards me. The same eleven were still together, but no big rams and no newborn lambs just yet.
At their closest, all of them came to around 20-40 feet away as I photographed their daily routine of grazing and resting. I love the up close and personal nature of this particular encounter, even if it's just simple shots of bighorn sitting down or grazing nearby. Image sharpness was a challenge on this day, so the photos aren't quite as great as I'd like. All-in-all though, it was an incredible day and another unforgettable encounter with this herd. In a few days, I'll part ways for several weeks, but hopefully I'll be able to find them again before they migrate higher and further away for the summer.
