hunterdude Report post Posted July 20, 2005 I was up at Canyon lake on Monday and witnessed a act of Nature. We were back past beer can point and saw three mature rams all scoring 160 to 170 on the shore. Two of the rams where bullying one of the rams. The one getting pushed around went down to get a drink and one rams pawed at him with his front hoves, then the other came over and head butted him in the butt and in the drink he went. The ram surfaced and swam back to the shore and tried to get out, but the rocks were to slick and he fell back in. He then tried again and almost had his back feet up on the rock and the more aggressive ram of the three head butted him again and back in he went. He then turn and tried to get out in a different spot and ended up drowning. We both bailed off the jet ski's and tried to grab him and pull him up, but he sunk to fast to grab. We where only about 30 yards from them this whole time. Talked about a sad lesson in wildlife in it's Natural environment. We were bumbed the rest of the day. What a waste of such a beautiful animal I would have much rather see it be taken by a lion or a hunter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullwidgeon Report post Posted July 20, 2005 The rut is tough on them. I know of several sheep that have fallen in catchments all over the state. I have a buddy who has fished a head out of a catchment too. I am sure some were knocked in during rut skirmishes. I have also found alot of skeletons and bones at the bases of cliffs, some were rams and I am sure some met their demise fighting with others. Anyways, that must have been amazing to watch, too bad most of the lake is 50 foot deep back there, pick-up sheep heads go for big bucks on Ebay. Bret M. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
az4life Report post Posted July 20, 2005 Wow, Very fortunate you were in the right place at the right time to see that. Too bad the ram couldn't get out, but that is the law of nature. You might want to call the Region 5 office in mesa to let them know what you saw. I am not sure how close a count the department keeps on those sheep, but your info won't hurt them. I recall seeing sheep there just after they were transplanted. For years after, I would go up boating, fishing, and ski-ing and love to sit and watch them while eating lunch on the boat. Ski-ing from the "snags" back to the bouy's and back to the snags was a favoite part of the lake for me. fishing the channel under the canyon lake bridge was great too. Have not been there in a number of years as I moved to the other side of the valley and sold the boat. Thanks for re-kindling that memory in your story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunterdude Report post Posted July 21, 2005 Yea I did call game and fish. They told me that they had some guys from the fishery going up this week and would have them keep a eye out for him to bloat and float. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted July 21, 2005 HUNTERDUDE: You were fortunate to have been a witness to that incident. Thank you for sharing it. Have you thought about selling your story? Outdoor Life used to have a feature it called "It Happened to Me..." or something like that. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
