TUCSON β Wildlife officials suspect pneumonia killed another sheep in the Catalina Mountains.
The Arizona Daily Star reports tests show signs of pneumonia in this most recent death were similar to those in four other bighorn sheep.
There are 35 of the collared animals living in the range north of Tucson.
Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman Mark Hart says the infection is limited in the population and the department will continue to monitor the herd.
Bighorn sheep were reintroduced to the area in 2013 and 2014 in an attempt to replace bighorn sheep that disappeared in the 1990s.
Plans are under way for another release in the area in November. Hart said officials are looking at bringing animals from a herd with prior exposure to pneumonia.
