Sheep of Stone

Here, on this high alpine prairie of Mount Toodoggone, life survives on the narrowest of margins. Less than half a dozen types of animals live here year-round... and most of them hibernate during the frozen winter. Because of their very isolation, these exotic animals are providing new insights into one of the fundamental forces of evolution, the bond between geology and genetics... these are the Sheep of Stone. Isolated, they have evolved both physical and behavioral characteristics which make them distinct even from their closest relatives. Stone sheep, more than any other type of mountain sheep, show the effects of geology upon their genetics.