Just a few weeks after a bacterial infection took out an iconic saguaro known as Strong-Arm in Marana’s Tortolita Preserve, another venerable giant has been felled. This time, the culprit was our powerful monsoon rains, which ended the majesty of a 200-year-old saguaro on the Romero Ruins trail overlooking Sutherland wash at Catalina State Park in Tucson, parks officials say.
And while this saguaro, unlike Strong-Arm, had not been nicknamed by its human admirers, its loss will definitely be noticed by regular park visitors, they say. It was probably even older than Strong-Arm, which was thought to have lived at least 150 years.
“Thankfully, this giant has fallen off the trail and will stay where it landed, providing habitat and food for many creatures as it decomposes,” Arizona State Parks said in a social media post Monday.
