Butting Heads

Butting Heads

Photograph by Paul Colangelo

Paul Colangelo had a business degree under his belt and an insurance job on the line. Then, driven by an impulse to capture the stories of wildlife and their habitats before they disappear, he dropped everything to pursue his passion for wildlife photography. Since then the National Geographic grantee’s repertoire has grown and flourished, and his various projects have sent him to some of the most remote areas of the world. Colangelo shot this photo of two rams competing for female attention during a 2012 trip to the Togadin Plateau in British Columbia.

“The Todagin Plateau bursts to life each fall with the frenzied activity of Stone’s sheep battling for the chance to mate. Overcome by hormones, the usually sedate sheep battle and vie to win the attention of desirable partners. The rams, with their large, curled horns, compete in fierce head-butting contests to establish the hierarchy within the male ranks. Fights continue to erupt when insubordinate juveniles are caught trying to mate behind the backs of their superiors. The females alternate from playing hard-to-get, fleeing from the less impressive rams, and fawning over the impressive full-curls. The yearlings seem to watch in amazement as the usually calm and steady adults lose all control.

“I am camping on Todagin Mountain throughout November and December to photograph this high-energy season. The high winds on Todagin, which destroyed camp in the summer, only get worse during the winter, so I have to base camp halfway down the mountain, protected among the trees. I start each day with a two-hour hike in the dark up the snow-covered mountain to reach the rutting grounds by sunrise and then spend the day on the exposed plateau with the sheep before hiking back in the dark after sunset. I wake up in my tent at 4 a.m. in minus 12˚F temperatures and have some instant oatmeal and strong coffee before heading out. I return to camp by 7 p.m., eat a freeze-dried dinner in a bag and am asleep by 8 p.m. To make this schedule seem normal, I set my watch two hours ahead, creating my own Todagin time zone.”