A couple weeks ago it occurred to me I’d never actually witnessed what I think is one of the coolest natural spectacles, bighorn sheep butting heads. This is especially egregious when you consider western Montana is truly the best place on earth to find mature rams. So this past weekend I set out to correct that with my two sons in tow. And what a sight it was.

We arrived on Saturday morning in a good area to find a mob of 100 Bighorns running all over a meadow in a carnal flurry, including at least a dozen full-curl monsters.  Males were chasing females nose-to-rear with plenty of vain attempts at mounting, curling their lips to test the air for love, and occasionally butting heads. Then six big rams peeled off in front of us and climbed up onto some scree in perfect photo position. A couple more dropped down from above, and it seemed for a moment like there might be a tussle, but after a tense few seconds and a few nasty looks they all agreed to itch their faces on each other’s horntips and call it even.

Rams are hilarious. They are snuggling like best friends or completely harassing each other, kicking  or jabbing sensive areas or straight-up mounting each other. Then randomly, a ram will lock eyes with another and get a “Who you lookin’ at?” demeanor, bristling and flexing their necks like a rooster and, maybe, butt heads. Or they might just lick each others faces.

Then all at once for no obvious reason the herd will stampede, jumping fences like they’re on pogo sticks or doing the limbo under them. Then they skid to a stop and a start feeding again.

I came back on Sunday to find a group of perhaps 50 about a half mile away in a horse pasture. After a while, two rams got upset while following the same ewe and decided to really have it out. At long last I witnessed the full standing-up-on-two-legs smash. It’s like a gun shot and seems i it ought to kill both of them. They have double-layered skulls, and they need it, because the collision still staggers them back before they regain a regal demeanor and again give each other the crazy evil eye.

The full gallery:

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