By their second spring bighorn sheep are totally independent of their mother. Life span - Mortality is high for bighorn sheep 1 to 2 years of age, drops to a relatively low rate for 2 to 8 years of age, then increases to a maximum for those older than 8 to 9 years. Bighorn sheep are territorial. Bighorn sheep inhabit remote mountain and desert regions. The aspect is usually south or southwest.
Rams often venture onto the more open slopes, although rugged terrain is always nearby.
Desert bighorn sheep rarely stray far from the base of a mountain and usually are found on eastern aspects, where they use dry gullies. Spring range - The spring range is generally characterized by the same parameters as the winter range. However, bighorn sheep begin to respond to local greenups along streambanks and valleys. Bighorn sheep use areas around saltlicks heavily in the spring. In the summer, bighorn sheep are mostly found grazing on grassland meadows and plateaus above timber.