The found horns of an Alberta bighorn sheep might be the largest ever recorded.
The horns were picked up in the foothills south of Hinton, Alta. earlier this spring, and have set an unofficial a world record, reports the Edmonton Journal.
They belonged to a decade-old Rocky Mountian ram, which officials believe died of natural causes last spring.
Alberta wildlife officers discovered the massive horns near the Candomin Mine, reports wideopenspaces.com, in an area known to attract large bighorn sheep.
According to outdoorlife.com, the latest measurement of the horns comes in at 209-1/8 inches — less than one inch from the record previously set in 2000, also from an Alberta bighorn.
However, another measurement will be done in 60 days, after the horns and attached skull sit at room temperature to ensure they are devoid of moisture.
Dean Bromberger, an accredited big-game measurer, told the Edmonton Journal he was "awestruck" by the trophy.
"These are impressive. We could tell just by looking at them that this would at least be pushing a world record. There was just so much mass."
Jack Reneau, director of big game records for record keepers Boone and Crockett, said in a statement on the company's website that three of the 10 largest set of horns currently on record came from 'found trophies,' as opposed to game taken down by hunters.
“It’s all about horn size and bragging rights,” Reg Prostebby, president of the Wild Sheep Foundation of Alberta, told the Journal.
“Only the best and biggest sheep earn the right to breed with ewes. Size counts, I guess you could say.”
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