The desert bighorn sheep can be found throughout the San Jacinto Mountains, the Coyote Mountains and down into Mexico. Museum visitors occasionally remark on seeing them on the drive up the Jacumba Mountains toward San Diego. Bighorns prefer steep, rocky, open terrain where they can keep a watchful eye out for predators and easily escape. Their sharp-edged, convex-shaped hooves with a soft inner pad allow them to nimbly race up rocky mountain slopes and canyons. Unlike most desert animals, bighorns are diurnal—meaning they are most active during the day, although during the hottest part of the day they will usually rest near water.