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Mountain Sheep in North America provides a detailed account of bighorn and thinhorn sheep across their geographic range from Alaska and Canada to Mexico. The book examines all aspects of life histories, including activity patterns; biology; conservation; diet; ecology; genetics; habitat requirements; health and disease; historical perspectives; management approaches; predation; competition with other species; natural history; social behavior; taxonomy; the changing role of agency, Indigenous, and conservation stakeholders; and the considerations for future management actions, opportunities, and conservation risks.
The book describes advancements in new technologies supported by current science, disproving some long-held assumptions about the species and their ecology, making it the most comprehensive source of information about mountain sheep in North America today. It offers every reader a better understanding of the management of mountain sheep, and the numerous challenges of a developing world that includes anthropogenic influences, altered habitats, species assemblages, and changing climates. Each chapter is written by internationally recognized experts and practicing mountain sheep managers from agencies and academia. New research is presented within broader shifts in conservation policy and funding, helping readers understand the practical implications of evolving science in real-world situations and offering wisdom that will help them create positive conservation outcomes for mountain sheep.
This is an essential text for students of wildlife, early-career and experienced biologists, managers, policy and decision makers, administrators, and anyone interested in mountain sheep in our world today, including those who are simply passionate about them. This book will provide even the most knowledgeable mountain sheep enthusiast with an improved understanding of this magnificent wildlife resource.
List of contents
Part 1: Biology and Ecology 1. Origin, classification, and distribution of mountain sheep in North America 2. Historical trends in mountain sheep populations and their habitats 3. Range wide status of mountain sheep 4. Physical characteristics and horn development 5. Social behavior and reproductive strategies 6. Application of genetics to taxonomy, biology, conservation, and management 7. Nutritional ecology of mountain sheep: From bites to populations 8. Diseases 9. Relationships among mountain sheep and their predators 10. Competition among mountain sheep and other ungulates 11. Seasonal migrations and other movements 12. Weather, water, and precipitation
Part 2: Population Management 13. Mountain sheep survey methods 14. Capture and translocation of mountain sheep 15. Modeling population dynamics of mountain sheep 16. Harvest management of mountain sheep in North America 17. Mountain sheep management in Mexico 18. Human dimensions and mountain sheep
Part 3: Habitat, Climate Change, and Conflicts 19. Characteristics of habitat for mountain sheep 20. Habitat management: key to mountain sheep conservation 21. Threats to mountain sheep habitat 22. Conflict Management
Part 4: Science Related Management Opportunities 23. Long-term research on individual sheep 24. Challenges for mountain sheep management and conservation in North America
About the author
Paul R. Krausman was an Assistant Professor at Auburn University (1976-1978), Professor of Wildlife Conservation and Management at the University of Arizona (1978-2007), and Boone and Crockett Professor at the University of Montana (2007-2015). He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, Editor of the Conservation and Management Book Series published by Johns Hopkins University Press and The Wildlife Society. He was raised in North Africa, Europe, and Asia before returning to the United States where he earned degrees from The Ohio State University (B.S., Zoology), New Mexico State University (M.S., Wildlife Management), the University of Idaho (Ph.D.,1976), and was awarded the Aldo Leopold Medal from The Wildlife Society in 2006. Paul was also a Visiting Professor at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, intermittently (1989-2000) and at the Universidade de Trás-os- Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal (2005-2006). He is also the recipient of the Desert Ram Award from the Desert Bighorn Council (2000). Paul has numerous journal and book publications and has been the editor of the
Desert Bighorn Council Transactions,
The Journal of Wildlife Management, and
Wildlife Monographs, and has been an associate and guest editor for 5 other journals. Paul is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Fellow, Honorary Member of The Wildlife Society, and served as faculty advisor to the student chapters of The Wildlife Society at Auburn, Arizona, and Montana. Dr. Krausman has taught an array of wildlife-related classes throughout his career, including Scientific Writing for Publication, Big Game Ecology, and Applied Wildlife Management. He has directed nearly 100 graduate students on ungulate and predator studies throughout the United States and in India. The most rewarding aspect of his career is the development of the future leaders in the wildlife profession-students. He currently lives with his wife and an assemblage of animals in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bill Jex always had a keen interest in the outdoors and started working in the natural resources field in Ontario, Canada in 1984. He graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 1989 as a Fish and Wildlife Technologist while doing some teaching along the way. Since graduation, Bill has worked in the fisheries, wildlife, habitat, enforcement, and regulatory fields. Beginning in 1996, Bill started employment with the Province of British Columbia, and since 2018, he has represented the province as its first Wild Sheep and Mountain Goat Specialist, before retiring in 2025. He continues to support the province in enforcement roles as a provincial wild sheep expert, and also supports non-government organizations as a member of the Wild Sheep Foundation's Professional Resource Advisory Board, the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance's Science and Conservation Committee, a member of the Northern Wild Sheep and Goat Council, and as a collaborator with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' Wild Sheep Initiative. Bill was one of the first Technologists to become accepted as a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia, in 2001. Currently, Bill works with the Wild Sheep Foundation and the Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia, and continues to support research with universities, conservation-focused organizations, and Indigenous Governments on wild sheep and mountain goat issues. He also supports, edits, and authors scientific and popular articles and conducts public education workshops. Mountain sheep and goats, and especially thinhorn sheep, are truly special to Bill. These animals live where few can: on the tops of the world and the edge of the earth, where the line between the land and sky is at times obscured by clouds or blinded in sunshine. Bill's goal is to continue to work for the conservation and management of mountain ungulates so future generations can be inspired by their resilience and majesty, and the places they live. Bill currently lives in Smithers, British Columbia with his lovely wife of 30 years, and their two dogs, a Chocolate Lab and Golden Retriever.
