On August 18, 1989 the Assembly designated the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) Alberta's official mammal. Bighorn sheep are commonly seen in the Rocky Mountains, and the species was first described by scientists in Banff in 1804. Alberta is home to about 6,000 of these agile animals. Like the great horned owl, the bighorn sheep was chosen by schoolchildren in a poll of over 3,000 schools. With its proud carriage, crowned by magnificent horns, it is a majestic inhabitant of a majestic province.