On a rugged Alberta mountain this giant horn set of a bighorn ram deteriorates slowly with the passing of time. I had carefully placed it on some rocks under a spruce tree over 20 years ago near where the dominant ram had died. In 1998 I was blessed to be able to film this magnificent creature in action throughout the rutting season as I was working on my wild sheep film entitled Bighorn Showdowns. That was the only year I was able to film this giant of a ram as I never saw him again. A couple years later I came across his horns that were still at that time in good shape and which I recognized immediately. I returned last week to this location to look for rams in the area and to see if the horns were still there and thankfully they were, though greatly aged. Pictured here is a copy of a photo of the big ram which had been taken from a single frame of the video so please excuse the graininess, however I believe you will get an idea how big and beautiful this ram was.
As a young boy growing up I was drawn to reading everything I could about the wilderness and the creatures that roam wild and free there. My favourite wilderness books were written by the late Andy Russell (1915 – 2005) who was a Canadian wilderness guide and outfitter from the Waterton Lakes Alberta area. He was also an author, photographer, filmmaker, rancher, conservationist and environmentalist. I’m sure after reading his books a number of times including his wild sheep book Horns in the High Country it helped spark my dream to become a wildlife filmmaker. /LEON LORENZ
