What Are Bighorn Rams And Where Are They In Yellowstone?
Bighorn Rams are wild sheep that roam around the western US and Canada. They are called “bighorns” because of the massive curly horns on their heads. The rams are the male sheep and the ones that get really big and have the big curly horns. The ewes (female) have horns but nowhere near as large and the males. Bighorn sheep are generally pretty docile animals most of the year. They generally stay away from humans but should not be approached. The park service recommends staying 25 years from them.
In the fall, often in November and December, the bighorn rams go though the “rut”. This is a time when testosterone rages and the males engage in head to head battles by rearing up, going had to head and smashing their horns together. The impact is tremendous. The resulting sound often echoes off the surrounding mountains where they often live. While the battles most often occur in the late fall and early winter, I’ve seen them engage in battles in Yellowstone in the spring on the way out to Lamar Valley.
Bighorn sheep can be seen most any time of year in Yellowstone, often between Tower Junction and Silver Gate by the northeast entrance. They can be seen most anywhere in the park. From my experience, the best time to see the rams is in the early to late spring.
What Is It Like To Travel To And Photograph Bighorn Rams At Yellowstone?
If you want to photograph bighorn rams at Yellowstone National Park, you’ll probably want to visit in the spring to maximize your chances of seeing them. It is possible to see them most any time of year but spring tend to be the best. The northern range is where I’ve most often seen them in the park and in the spring.
If you are headed out to Yellowstone in the spring, you’ll probably want to fly into the Bozeman, Montana airport, get your rental car there and head down to the park. All the major roads in Yellowstone are paved. There is no real reason you need to get anything other than a regular car to see Yellowstone and go to the area in the Northern Range where bighorn rams tend to hang out in the spring. By May, winter weather and storms will probably be a thing of the past but it is always a good idea to check the weather.
In May, the park is starting to open all the roads but the road from the north entrance and the Mammoth Hot Springs area out to the Northeast entrance is always open. It does sometimes snow this time of year but usually melts off quickly and is nothing to worry about.
If you’ll be spending most or all of your time in the northern range of the park you’ll probably want to find lodging in the town of Gardiner, Montana. There are plenty of hotels, shops and restaurants in Gardiner which is just outside the entrance to Yellowstone. If you want to save some cash and will be bringing your own food to the park you may want to stock up in Bozeman, MT or Livingston, MT on the way down to Gardiner.
In addition to hotels there are some campgrounds/RV parks in Gardiner that may or may not be open in May. Alternatively you can camp in the park at the Mammoth Hot Springs Campground. While the Mammoth Campground used to be a first served, first served campground year-round, the park service recently made it reservation only between April 1st and October 15th so you’ll have to pay more fees and may not be able to just drive up and get a campsite.
Once you get the transportation and lodging all set, the best way to find bighorn sheep is to head out toward the Lamar Valley section of the park and keep your eyes open especially along the cliffs on the left side of the road between Tower Junction and Lamar Valley. As with any wildlife there is no guarantee you will see bighorn rams or bighorn sheep at all. Even if you don’t see bighorns, chances are good you will see bison, elk, deer, pronghorn. If you get really lucky you may see bears or wolves in this area of the park.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of Yellowstone Bighorn Rams?
When you want to get wall art quality photos of bighorn rams or any wildlife in Yellowstone, the two things you need are some luck and a big camera lens. In the spring (and anytime) there will be days when bighorn rams are out and viewable from the roads or hiking trails and plenty of days when they are not. If you hope to come away with some cool photos you’ll need to pack your patience and potentially persistence.
If you have not photographed bighorn rams in the past, chances are you will be elated just to see them and come away with any photo to add to your collection or portfolio. Once you have your first bighorn photos you can start to think more about improving your photos by trying to get better backgrounds, better poses, action shots, multiple sheep in the photo and tilling the frame if the bighorns are close enough.
In addition to framing up your bighorn ram photos, you’ll need to focus on getting your shutter speed correct for the amount of movement or lack thereof in the photo. If you see and try to photograph bighorn rams in the heat or battle you’ll probably want the shutter to stay open for about 1/1000 of a second or faster. For photos like the one in this article, you may be able to get away with 1/50 second depending on how steady your camera is and how slow the bighorn is moving.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing Yellowstone Bighorn Rams?
When it comes to photographing bighorn rams, chances are you aren’t going to want to spend the cash for the “best” equipment. The long prime lenses can cost more than $10,000. Add in a top notch camera and possibly a tripod to hold that heavy gear and you can be looking at $15,000 on up to probably $25,000 if you get the latest and greatest equipment.
Assuming you don’t have that kind of cash to spend on camera gear, what can you get that will work well and get good quality prints? First we need to identify the things to look for in the camera gear.
- How many frames per second can the camera shoot? Ideally you’ll want something that can shoot 10 frames per second or more. For slow moving wildlife this doesn’t matter as much. If the rams are battling head to head, you’ll want something that can shoot FAST to capture as many moments of the action as possible.
- How high can you crank up the ISO and still get quality images? The ISO is basically the sensitivity of the sensor. As the ISO level the camera is set to rises, the quality of the image file degrades. It becomes more grainy and harder to process so that it looks good. Ideally you want something that can get decent images at an ISO level of 1,000 or more. The better the ISO performance, the most you can shoot in lower light conditions.
- Does it have a full frame sensor or a crop sensor? If it has a crop sensor, the sensor will probably be smaller and the image will have less megapixels and result in the ability to create smaller prints. Since you’ll be able to zoom in more with a crop sensor, you’ll be able to get the subject to fill up more of the frame if it is distant.
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