Bighorns Eating Asphalt On Mt. Evans, Colorado

[CrazyHermit]

Mt. Evans is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness at 14,271-feet. The road leading to it is the highest paved road in North America. Each year the road gets damaged by the extreme weather and asphalt patches are made. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats love to lick and eat these patches, presumably for the salt or minerals contained in them. On this day I found dozens of ewes and kids. Later this summer I'll go back in search of mountain goats. For some reason this site sets YouTube videos at low rez. You can change it to HD by clicking the geared wheel on the bottom of the video after it begins.

[Sean]

Thanks for the video. I didn't know that sheep lick the asphalt. I had a dog who ate the rubber soles off shoes, and sometimes my old shoes will disappear off the porch, presumably stolen by raccoons. I guess some petroleum products are quite tasty to animals.

[CrazyHermit]

Apparently there's salt in the asphalt and on the sides of cars. They salt the roads up here in the winter.

[craigchanowski22]

Great job Hermit-the video looks clean and crisp.