alberta sheepA bighorn sheep killed in a highway collision in Alberta has the largest horns ever recorded for the species. Boone and Crockett Club measurers recently certified it as the new world record.

The horns’ final score of 209 4/8 B&C edged out the previous record, another ram from Alberta that scored 208 3/8. That animal was shot by hunter Guinn Crousen in 2000.

The new #1 ram was hit by a vehicle on a highway west of Longview, Alberta. A local rancher who knew of the ram and found the animal on his property obtained a possession permit from Alberta Fish & Wildlife.

He said, “This ram and a younger ram had lived on the ranch where I worked since 2009. The older ram would go down to the highway a couple times a month, but the younger ram would rarely follow. We always wondered if one of these trips to the highway would be his last.”

Bighorns are unquestionably one of the most magnificent animals on Earth. We encountered and filmed two nice rams on a mule deer hunt in Oregon last fall. It’s cool and unique footage for a new episode of #bigdeertv to air later this year.

bighorns