"Flehmen response"
This awkward (to say the least) gesture is how male animals of many different kinds "test the air" for the presence of pheromones signalling the readiness of females for breeding. The photo was taken at the end of rut, i.e., the breeding season, for this wild sheep herd. The vast majority of receptive females had already been impregnated at this point, but the males are still hopeful.
Also, note the absence of upper incisors. This is typical for bovines; they clamp vegetation between their lower incisors - very visible here - and a bony-hard top gum to pull it into their mouths for chewing with molars farther back in their mouths.
Photo taken just outside the northern border of Yellowstone National Park
"Flehmen response"
This awkward (to say the least) gesture is how male animals of many different kinds "test the air" for the presence of pheromones signalling the readiness of females for breeding. The photo was taken at the end of rut, i.e., the breeding season, for this wild sheep herd. The vast majority of receptive females had already been impregnated at this point, but the males are still hopeful.
Also, note the absence of upper incisors. This is typical for bovines; they clamp vegetation between their lower incisors - very visible here - and a bony-hard top gum to pull it into their mouths for chewing with molars farther back in their mouths.
Photo taken just outside the northern border of Yellowstone National Park