United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Intermountain Region

Uinta National Forest

For more information contact:

Uinta National Forest

Supervisor’s Office

88 West 100 North

Provo, UT 84601

(801) 377-5780

Pleasant Grove Ranger District

390 North 100 East

Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

(801) 785-3563

 

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

1115 North Main

Springville, UT 84663

(801) 491-5678

Federation for

North American Wild Sheep

Utah Chapter

2929 Kenwood Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84106

(801) 466-8830

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discriminations in all its programs 

and activities on the basis of race, color, national region, sex, religion, age, disability, 

political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases 

apply to all programs). Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact 

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 

326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-

9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider 

and employer.

23.256.418.06/00

Viewing Wildlife

During the summer months (July 

- September), goats are most likely seen 

on Mt. Timpanogos’ high ridge tops and at 

Hidden Lakes Cirque and Bomber Ridge. 

Winter brings the goats east of Provo along 

the Wasatch Front to Lost Creek Canyon and 

Slide Canyon and to “The Fingers” area in 

Provo Canyon. 

During the summer, bighorn sheep may 

be seen at the mouth of American Fork Canyon, Provo Canyon, and along the Wasatch 

Front. They may move to lower elevations in 

the winter to find food in these areas.

Characteristics:

Bighorn Sheep

 Horns are tan. Rams will 

have curved horns, while 

ewe’s horns are smaller and 

shorter, never reaching a full curl.

 Hoof prints are rectangular. Hooves have a 

hard outer rim with a soft concave middle 

for better traction on rough terrain.

 Coats are brown, with white hair on the 

belly, rump patch, backs of legs, muzzle, 

and eye patch.

 Eyes are a yellowish color.

Rugged 

Rocky 

Mountain 

Sheep & 

Goats

Rough and Tough 

Mountain Climbers

Viewing Tips

• View from a 

distance. Use 

binoculars, spotting 

scopes, and telephoto lens to view and photograph wildlife 

to avoid stressing them.

• Protect newborns and young animals by 

keeping your distance.

• Animals may charge if chased, crowded, or 

followed. 

• Animals require special diets - Please don’t 

feed them.

• Avoid sudden loud noise around animals.

Characteristics:

Mountain 

Goat

 Horns are short, black, and do not curl. Billies’ horns are larger at the base and curve 

sharper than nannies.

 Hoof prints are square. Hooves have a hard 

outside with a spongy, convex pad inside, 

making travel easier over rocky terrain.

 Coats are white, with a wool-like undercoat 

and long guard hair as the outer coat.

 Eyes are dark brown to black.

photo by Brian Maxfield
introduction

ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN 

SHEEP (Ovis canadensis canadensis) are native 

to the Wasatch Mountain range, but were 

eliminated in the early 1900’s due to hunting and disease resulting from settlement in 

the area. Only a small population of desert 

bighorn sheep in southwest Utah managed to 

survive. 

The Uinta National Forest is currently 

involved in a partnership to reintroduce bighorn sheep. The reintroductions are an attempt 

to increase the population for Utah, and to 

reestablish a native sheep population on Mt. 

Timpanogos.

Capture and Release 

The North American Wild Sheep Federation, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 

(UDWR), the Sundance Corporation, and 

private individuals contributed time and money 

to this reintroduction project. Project planning 

spanned over 15 years. 

Approximately 60 bighorn sheep were 

released into Grove Creek Canyon and Rock 

Canyon on the Uinta National Forest. The 

sheep were captured from the Rattlesnake 

Canyon herd near Green River, Utah and from 

Hinton, Alberta Canada.

There are plans to transplant more 

bighorn sheep on Cascade Mountain and Box 

Elder Peak areas on the Uinta and WasatchCache National Forests.

introduction

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOATS (Oreamnos americanus) inhabit the Mt. Timpanogos 

Wilderness in the Uinta National Forest. The 

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources transplanted 10 goats from Olympic National Park 

in 1981. There are now close to 100 goats 

occupying this wilderness area. 

There is still debate about whether the 

goats are native to Utah. They may have lived 

here in the past before recordable histories 

of fossils could provide evidence. Fossils of 

a smaller mountain goat, Harington’s goat 

(Oreamnos haringtoni) have been found, but 

evidence suggests that the goats have been 

absent from Utah for 10,000 years. 

Biology 

Mountain goat males, females, and 

yearlings are known as billies, nannies, and 

kids. Billies are only allowed near the nannies 

during rutting season, which lasts from November to December. Kids are born from mid-May 

to mid-June and weigh 7-8 pounds. Twins and 

triplets have been born on Mt. Timpanogos but 

these are rare. They only nurse for a short time 

and then begin eating grasses and forbs.

Billies are territorial and will defend their 

space. They will line up parallel to each other 

but facing opposite directions. If one does 

not back down, the goat next to them will jab 

their horns into the hind quarter most of the 

time. They will also run at each other and as 

a threat, lower their heads and display their 

horns. 

Habitat 

Mountain goats live at high elevations 

in rugged terrain in the summer and move to 

lower elevations during the winter. These areas 

are close to water. Diet varies from season 

to season. Summer meals consist primarily of 

grasses and forbs, while winter food consists of 

shrubs and browse. 

In the spring and summer, salt licks are 

used. These areas usually have a number of 

minerals, which the goats may have been lacking all winter. During the summer, goats can be 

found in wallowing areas, which are depressions in the ground where goats roll around in 

the dirt to remove external parasites and to 

cool down.

Biology

Bighorn sheep males, females and yearlings are referred to as rams, ewes, and lambs. 

During the summer, rams establish order of 

dominance by the size of their horns. When two 

bands of bighorns meet, rams possessing horns 

of equal 

size often 

engage in 

head butting bouts. 

Head 

butting 

also occurs 

when two 

rams are 

following 

the same 

ewe during 

breeding season. The victor wins the right to 

breed with the ewes.

Breeding or rutting season lasts from 

mid-October to December. Lambs are born 

from mid-April through late June. They weigh 

about 9 pounds. Twins are very rare. The first 

two weeks of life only milk is suckled, then the 

lambs will eat grasses and plants. 

Habitat

During the summer, bighorn sheep live on 

high mountain slopes with rugged terrain and 

in the foothills near rocky cliffs in the winter. 

Both areas are near permanent water sources. 

They depend primarily on grasses and forbs 

for food, and shrubs depending on the season. 

In spring and summer, mineral licks containing 

salts are eagerly sought.

photo by Brian Maxfield