Last Updated: July 31, 2026
Desert bighorn sheep are one of the most thrilling wildlife encounters in the American Southwest. Found throughout rugged canyon country from western North America to northern Mexico and Baja California, these remarkable animals have evolved to thrive in terrain that seems almost impossibly steep. We love photographing them because they occupy dramatic rocky ledges with sweeping desert backdrops, are surprisingly tolerant of patient observers with long lenses, and their massive curling horns make for extraordinary portraits. Zion National Park in southwestern Utah is one of the best places in the country to find them — and on this January 2021 visit, we had an encounter we will never forget.
