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Species authority page

Dall sheep

Ovis dalli · Wild sheep · Big game

Dall sheep (Ovis dalli): White wild sheep. Rams carry massive curled horns; ewes have shorter, slender, slightly curved horns. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the dall sheep map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Dall sheep standing on a rock on a steep green mountainside
Photo by Paxson Woelber on Unsplash
Scientific name
Ovis dalli
Family
Bovidae
Range
Brooks Range, Alaska Range and Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, and the Mackenzie and northern Rocky Mountains of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia; many southern populations are isolated.
Biology

How to identify it

White wild sheep. [1][2]

Rams carry massive curled horns; ewes have shorter, slender, slightly curved horns. [1][2]

Rams under about 3 years resemble ewes; yearling rams are hard to tell from ewes. [1][2]

Horn growth rings (annuli) indicate age. [1][2]

Compared with the mountain goat: Sometimes confused; Dall sheep prefer drier country and do not occur in Southeast Alaska. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Do not identify Dall sheep from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Relatively dry mountain country: open alpine ridges, meadows and steep slopes next to rugged cliffs used as escape terrain. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Rams live in bands apart from ewe groups except during the late November–early December rut [1][2]

Rams clash horns to establish rank [1][2]

Moves to higher elevations in spring and lower in fall; very loyal to seasonal home ranges [1][2]

Travels many miles to mineral licks in spring [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Brooks Range, Alaska Range and Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, and the Mackenzie and northern Rocky Mountains of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia; many southern populations are isolated.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Alaska Department of Fish and Game · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Alaska Department of Fish and Game

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe