Chapters 7.20
7.20- Mountain sheep
Hannah Weisgerber , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Weisgerber,H. (2022) Mammals. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Introduction
Mountain sheep are a species of animals that have been in Canada for centuries. These animals were hunted for years by indigenous peoples and a large source of food for their communities. The consumption of these animals has many health benefits and were first hunted by Indigenous peoples. The purpose of this paper is to educate and inform people about Mountain Sheep, its history, and the used and consumptions of people today.
Animal And Species Information
The mountain sheep (Ovis Candensis) , which is also known to be called by the big horn sheep, American Bighorn sleep, or Ovis Canadensis. They are large described as brown with white patch on their chest. Both the male and females have horns, however the males, rams, have bigger horns. Males can grow as large as two meters long and weigh up to 300 pounds (137kg). The weight of these sheep varies between different species, the California bighorn is quite large compared to the desert bighorns that are smaller. The ewes, which are the female sheep, can often live up to 15 years old, however a 10-year-old ram is rare, the maximum lifespan for the mountain sheep is 12-14 years (British Columbia, N.D). The diet of a mountain sheep is not much different than those on a sheep farm, they eat grasses, shrubs, and herbs, a plant-based diet some would say. Since these animals’ experience winters like most Canadians, they must resort to a different diet in the winter because grasses are not available, they eat woods, such as willow, sagebrush, and rabbit brush in the cold seasons (British Columbia, n.d). Studies have proven that up to two million bighorns once resided in Canada but in the 1800s they were overhunted, lost their habitat loss, and diseases had the species near extinction (Pallardy, 2020).
Historical Background
It was stated that ‘it was nearly 750,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene era, that wild sheep crossed from Asia to North America over the Beringia land bridge, which lead to adaption and evolving throughout different areas” (Cawson, 2022). This move created three different sub-species, one being the Mountain Bighorn sheep. The bighorn mountain sheep was one of the first animals most people associate with the high mountains (Mionczynski, 2021).
Geographic Origins
The mountain sheep population was estimated to be between 1.5 and 2 million in the nineteenth century, and less than 85,000 are remaining (Toweill, 2007). These sheep live in the range of southern Canada to Mexico (Toweill, 2007). The Canadian Wildlife Federation talked about the range of the mountain sheep “The range of the mountain sheep today extends from the snowfields of the Canadian Rockies to below sea level, on the desert floor of Death Valley, California, and from Alaska all the way to northern Mexico…the southern sheep evolved into seven races, two of which returned to Canada after the retreat of the glaciers. Rocky Mountain bighorns moved north into the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta until just south of the Peace River. California bighorns expanded into southwestern British Columbia” (Wildlife Federation, n.d). Although the sheep have moved around, they mostly reside in western North America’s montains.
Associated Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous people hunted and used mountain sheep for consumption. These animals were a large source of food for many, however, these animals were also often thought of as guardian spirits (Cawson, 2022). An article from the Government of Canada says that “Traditional food has significant nutritional, social, cultural, and spiritual value and is an important part of food security for Indigenous peoples. Indigenous knowledge and dietary studies show that eating traditional foods, even in small mounds, provides important nutritional benefits” (Government of Canada, 2021). It goes on to explain what chromic wasting disease, CWD, and the importance of this related to First Nations for food safety. When hunting the animal, if it carried a disease, or was sick, it can run the risk of getting the consumers sick too, much like any animal we consume today. Another large reason Indigenous people valued Mountain Sheep was for the hides. These were highly prized because it was a warm source of winter clothes. It is stated that “The Mountain Shoshone people depended on bighorn sheep for most of their clothing, shelter, and food. They made wickiups covered with wild rye crass and sheep hides, worse clothing and moccasins with hair-in sheep hide, ate the meat of these sheep, and made sheep horn bows” (Mionczynski, 2021). The Mountain Sheep are associated to Indigenous people in many ways.
Consumption And Uses
Mountain sheep were hunted all seasons of the year, but particularly in the summer. The late summer was prime time for hunting because they were fat and the flesh was in good condition (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). Snares, bows, arrows, and guns are commonly used to hunt these animals, often smaller dogs were used to guide sheep up or down the mountain to where the men were waiting further up the mountain. These groups of hunters had a strategy to have the sheep unknowingly moving towards the hunters who were the best and had them stationed at key vantage points ready to take the animal down. After hunting these animals, they were usually either partially or fully butchered, or skinned at the scene of the kill (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017).
Health Benefits
In recent years, people have taken a step away from animal produced milk and have turned to alternatives such as almond or oat milk. However, sheep’s milk is an important source of fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium. These sheep milk products have a health-promoting effect on cardiovascular systems and civilization diseases (Flis & Molik, 2021). It’s been proven that sheep’s milk contains biological active antibacterial, immunomodulatory, which for reference means a change in the body’s immune system that is caused by agents that activate or suppress its function, and antioxidant substances (Health, n.d) and antioxidant substances (Farag et al., 2020). However, the sheep were used primarily for the consumption of meats and was a large food source. This article states the benefits from consuming lamb “Not only is it a rich source of high-quality protein, but it is also an outstanding source of many vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. Because of this, regular consumption of lamb may promote muscle growth, maintenance, and performance. In addition it helps prevent anemia” (Arnarson, 2019).
Limitations
A problem that mountain sheep face is that with mining and industrial operations, a large amount of metal is exposed to wildlife (Duffy et al n.d). Mountain sheep are also a low food resource with the animals becoming more and more extinct. If society wants to keep this animal out of extinction, less people will have to hunt them. They have already been pushed to the edge of extinction once, people know now not to do it again.
References
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2.Arnarson, A. (2019, March 26). Lamb 101: Nutrition Facts and health effects. Healthline. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/lamb
3.British Columbia n.d, G. (n.d.). Habitat Atlas for Wildlife at Risk California Bighorn Sheep. Ministry of Environment - Okanagan Region - California Bighorn Sheep. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/okanagan/esd/atlas/species/bighorn_sheep.html#:~:text=A%20short%20dark%20tail%20is,lifespan%20is%2012%2D14%20years
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14.Toweill, D. (2007). Bighorn Sheep. National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Bighorn-Sheep
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