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G'day mates!

We're here to take you on a wonderful journey through the mating rituals of the Big Horn Sheep! Sounds fun doesn't it? Well it isn't really. Unless you find brain damage and death hilarious. Big Horn Sheep fighting is a serious matter, and we're here to investigate its reprecussions. JOIN US!

Bighorn Sheep Vital Stats
Weight: 115-280 lbs.
Length with tail: 50-62"
Shoulder Height: 32-40"
Sexual Maturity: 2 years
Mating Season: Nov.-Dec.
Gestation Period: 180 days
No. of Young: 1-2
Birth Interval: 1 year
Lifespan: Bighorns can live 10 to 15 years
Typical diet: mainly grasses, sedges and forbs.

Bighorn Sheep Curious Facts
Known for head-to-head combat between males.

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.

Bighorns have a complex 9-stage digestive process that allows them to maximize removal of nutrients from food of marginal quality.

Mating is a magical and mysterious ritual of life...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YzTkkh3Bdc

But for the Bighorn Sheep, just securing a mate can be DEADLY

At speeds from 35-45 km/h and horns that weigh up to 30 lbs, travelling 20-30 meters head on, the impact is enormous, and can be heard up to 2km away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6-3-meTFI

WOE IS ME! HOW ON EARTH COULD AN ANIMAL POSSIBLY SURVIVE THIS KIND OF TRAUMA?!

Well, I'll tell you how.

The bony structures in their heads are adapted to protect the brain from the tremendous impact. Bighorn sheep have a double-layered skull honeycombed with bone struts to protect their brains during their impressive head-banging battles. Thick tendons link the skull and spine to help recoil from the impact.

Big Horn Sheep hit each other with approximately 800kg of force (assuming a weight of 280 pound which is a normal adult male) on impact if their traveling at their top speed, this however depends on the distance the begin running at each other at.

When they headbutt they are dazed for a few seconds depending on how hard they hit, which is why they like take a break between fights. They will also occasionally dig their heads into the ground in an attempt to apply pressure to the head region to combat the pain they experience after headbutting.

"Humans can tolerate very little acceleration/deceleration injury, because of the large brain size, its softness, and our upright posture. Think of a heavy, soft fruit on a branch that gets a hit. In contrast, think about the woodpecker -- that little guy gets thousands of hits to the head and doesn't miss a beat. Or how about bighorn sheep in the rutting season -- these animals have adapted by developing a complex cranial anatomy to hold the brain in the skull, like a walnut in its shell, so it can't move with even large force impacts. " (BBC.com)

Their brains are harder and more dense then the human brain, and are tightly packed in their skulls so when their heads move their brains DONT.

Big Horn Sheep experience more fatalities at the hands of hunters and predators than dying of brain damage or other bodily harm.

OTHER ANIMALS THAT HEADBUTT:

Dinosaurs (at least they used to)

Deer

Bison

http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=13522i