Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in California with over 500 miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and miles and miles of hiking trails.
A large percentage of the world's endangered big horn sheep live in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park that surrounds Borrego Springs. I still haven't seen any of them while hiking in the park, but we see them dining on the lush grass of the de Anza golf course! It's not uncommon to see a couple dozen on the course at certain times of the year with the golfcourse groundskeepers gently encouraging them to leave.The desert subspecies in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (and lounging on our golf course) is Ovis canadensis nelsoni.
115-280 lbs. and 50-62" in length with tail
Shoulder Height: 32-40"
Sexual Maturity: 2 years
November and December are mating months
No. of Young: 1-2 (gesaation period is 180 days, birth interval is 1 year)
- Bighorns can live 10 to 15 years eating mainly grasses, sedges and herbacious flowering plants
- Head to head combat between rams has been observed to last for longer than 24 hours.
- Horn size is a symbol of rank. Male horns can weigh as much as 30 lbs.
- Desert Bighorn do not require drinking water in winter when green vegetation is available. During the summer months they visit waterholes at least every 3 days.
