“The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.” Psalms 104:18.
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, both rams and ewes, are majestic, sharp-sighted animals that are often seen standing on top of a boulder or at the edge of a deep precipice in the mountains. Their beautiful amber-colored corkscrew horns, spreading up to four feet across with loops more than a foot in diameter, are a pretty sight. Both rams and ewes have thick, brown wool with a patch of white around their stubby tails and white muzzles up front. The rams often weigh up to 400 pounds.
Living above the timberline throughout the year, bighorns only go down to lower grassy slopes when food is scarce. The Creator designed them to live where other animals (except the little cony) cannot survive. An advantage of the high sub-zero climate in these mountains is that strong winds sweep the snow away from the high meadows, leaving grass and shrubs exposed. The bighorns’ God-given, special digestive systems were designed to handle this frozen but nourishing food.
Familiar with every foot of the rocky slopes and cliffs, these animals run and play on them as surefooted as an athlete on a baseball diamond. For this exciting life the Lord God provided them with insulated coats, shock-proof legs, as well as hooves that hold firmly on the rocky ledges. It is a treat to see them playing in these surroundings. Young bighorns (kids) like to play “King of the Castle” and also playfully copy the fights of the adults. Both young and old enjoy sitting on their back haunches at the top of a snowy slope, sliding down swiftly, then returning for a repeat performance... just like boys and girls with their sleds.
The rams live peacefully except when seeking mates among the ewes. Then they batter each other without mercy. Two rams standing several feet apart will suddenly, as if on signal, rise on their hind legs, dash forward at a terrific speed, then drop to all fours and clash together with horns and heads in crashes that can be heard a mile away. This stuns them for a few moments, but soon they go at it again until one finally leaves. Serious injury seldom results, for the Creator has provided them with an inch-thick, honeycomb “sandwich” in their two-layered skull, plus an inch of tough outer skin—all helping to absorb these shocks.
These animals give the appearance of pride in their beauty. This might be all right in animals, but the Bible warns that it is not right for boys and girls, or grown-ups either. It says, “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Proverbs 29:23. Instead of pride Colossians 3:12 tells us to have “kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness.” But this attitude, so pleasing to the Lord, can only fully show itself when we have asked Him to be our personal Saviour and are depending on His strength to walk in His ways.
ML-09/25/1983