Churn Creek’s rolling
grasslands, steep ravines and river canyons
provide excellent habitat for California Bighorn
sheep and mule deer. The spotted bat and long-billed
curlews, also protected by the park, are among
the provinces 55 endangered, threatened or vulnerable
species. The Bighorn’s general range is
western North America from southeastern B.C.
down into lower California, feeding primarily
on wheatgrass, bluegrass and junegrass and hunted
by wolves, cougar, wolverines and coyotes. They
represent a species that entered the New World
from Asia no earlier than the Pleistocene era,
having no known ancestors prior to the Tertiary
Period. Ewes and their offspring travel in large
herds entirely separate from the smaller herds
of mature rams, meeting only for the short mating
season that begins in September. The greyish-brown
newborn lambs, usually twins, are born in the
spring and, before winter, weigh about 40 kilograms.
Their most distinctive feature, the massive
curling horns of the mature male, spirals backward
from the top of the head, then tapers sharply
toward the tip. Made up of a hollow horny sheath
growing over a bony core, they can weigh up
to 10 kilograms and, sadly, are still considered
a trophy by some hunters. A stocky, muscular
animal, weighing as much as 160 kilograms, the
male is widely known for its brutal jousting
matches during the mating season. The head-on
collisions in these butting contests are conducted
at speeds clocked at 80 to 100 kilometres /hour.
The force of the impact has been estimated at
over 1000 kilograms and can be heard over 2
kilometres away.
|
