Population characteristics and dispersal of California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) were investigated 12 years after the 1968 release of 8 animals on the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. Analyses suggested: (l) population growth may have slowed from 1974 to 1980 as a result of intraspecific competition for high quality lambing terrain; (2) female bighorn sheep may experience alternate periods of range expansion and consolidation associated with environmental dispersal; and (3) rams may approximate innate dispersal.
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