Nevada mammals

Bighorn Sheep in Nevada

Ovis canadensis

Native to Nevada S4 Apparently Secure in Nevada

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nevada by USGS NAS; native to its Nevada range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

New Mexico Bighorn SheepBighorn Sheep - KananaskisMK00658 Badlands Bighorn SheepBighorn sheep ram standing on snowy rockRocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Photo: Jwanamaker · CC BY-SA 3.0New Mexico Bighorn SheepPhoto: Jakub Fryš · CC BY-SA 4.0Bighorn Sheep - KananaskisPhoto: Martin Kraft · CC BY-SA 3.0MK00658 Badlands Bighorn SheepPhoto: John Krampl · CC BY 4.0Bighorn sheep ram standing on snowy rockPhoto: Caleb Catto · CC BY 4.0Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)

Bighorn Sheep in Nevada, by the numbers

Common in Nevada 2nd most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

2,756 occurrence records
2,513 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 9, 2026 Last seen in Nevada

Records from 2000–2026.

2,756 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 2,681 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Bighorn Sheep in Nevada

Most sightings fall in February to June.

2,681 Nevada occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Nevada records (table)
MonthRecords
January184
February241
March319
April319
May273
June239
July158
August163
September152
October155
November223
December255

Monthly bighorn sheep occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nevada, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nevada, with recorded sightings peaking in February–June, with a smaller rise in November–December.

Occurrence map

Where Bighorn Sheep has been recorded in Nevada

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Nevada records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Valley of Fire State Park 10
Great Basin National Park 5
Walker Lake State Park 4
Lake Mead National Recreation Area 3
Gold Butte National Monument 3
Mt. Moriah Wilderness 3
Ruby Mountains Wilderness 1
North McCullough Wilderness Area 1

Protected places with the most bighorn sheep sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Nevada

CountyRecords
Clark County 2,292
Nye County 118
Mineral County 52
Esmeralda County 41
Lincoln County 34
Elko County 33
Lyon County 15
Churchill County 13
Washoe County 12
White Pine County 12
Humboldt County 11
Lander County 3
3 other counties 120

The complete county distribution, spread across 15 Nevada counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Subspecies in Nevada

Nevada has desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in its southern desert ranges; the desert bighorn is Nevada’s state animal.

Nevada records for the bighorn sheep are anchored by Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. They show where people have reported it, not how many animals live there.

The Nevada records bridge the state’s southern desert country and its higher central or northern ranges. That broad spread matters more than any single hotspot. The monthly pattern is fairly spread out rather than confined to one Nevada season. It tracks observer records and shouldn’t be read as a population count.

The file combines 2,513 research-grade iNaturalist records and 2,134 GBIF records. Those 4,647 records measure documented encounters, not Nevada’s population size. It’s native to Nevada. Nevada doesn’t specifically list it under the state’s conservation framework, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Bighorn Sheep in other states

View all states →

New Mexico Bighorn Sheep
Full species profile Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis Size 1.7 m5.5 ft Weight 58–143 kg127.9–315.3 lb Lifespan 14 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Nevada in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"