Another bighorn sheep has died in the Catalina Mountains — the 10th bighorn fatality since 31 sheep were released in the range last November, state wildlife officials confirmed Monday.
“It was a ewe and it was found on Friday, Feb. 7,” said Mark Hart, a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “The cause of the death is being investigated.”
The 31 bighorn sheep, captured from healthy herds near Yuma, were relocated to the Catalinas in an effort to rebuild a herd that disappeared from the range in the 1990s.
Most of the sheep that have died were killed by mountain lions. Two lions have been killed for preying on sheep.