Ernestine Carter, age 12, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, for her question:

Were sheep in America before Columbus came?

It is thought that all our domestic sheep descended from sturdy wild ancestors that lived on the bleak plains of central Asia. Flocks of these original sheep probably were partially domesticated throughout most of Europe before the dawn of history. The only wild sheep of the Americas is the magnificent bighorn of the western mountains and the Amerindians made no attempt to domesticate him. When Columbus arrived, the bighorn was the only sheep in the New World. The Spanish settlers brought sheep from the domesticated herds of Europe. Through the years, some of them naturally escaped and established flocks that now live wild in certain deserted or protected areas.

The proud and wily bighorn of the Rockies is a large and sturdy sheep, standing three and a half feet tall at shoulder level and often weighing 320 pounds. His thick fleecy coat is light brown blending, to slightly darker brown along his sides. His most remarkable feature is his crown of huge wide horns that circle back and curve forward to the sides of his face.