Another transplanted bighorn sheep has been found dead in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department said the pregnant ewe's GPS collar had been sending mortality signals on occasion since mid-December. Department biologists took into consideration that sheep are less active this time of year and that the ewe might be pregnant so it was decided not to approach her at this time for fear of disturbing her and other nearby sheep.
After four days of GPS mortality alerts a field check was made and the ewe was found to be alive and that she looked pregnant.
However, on Dec. 22, another mortality signal was sent but her GPS collar indicated movement over a small area. The mortality signals continued off and on for several days and when a department biologist went to check on her Dec. 28, the ewe was found dead.
A necropsy revealed she had fallen and fractured her skull and left leg, most likely within 48 hours of when her carcass was found. The actually cause of death was not determined, but predation by lions was ruled out.
The ewe had been caputured and relocated to the Catalinas from the Yuma area last month as part of the department's effort to restore a bighorn population that died out in the 1990s in the mountains.
There are 57 collared sheep known to be alive, Game and Fish said.
The department also said:
- The sheep are entering lambing season and many ewes may be in the later stages of pregnancy. Pregnant sheep are easily disturbed by humans so between Jan. 1 and April 30, travel of more than 400 feet off of designated trails in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Bighorn Sheep Management Area is prohibited.
- The battery life of the tracking collars placed on transplanted sheep in 2013 is dwindling, which was expected. The collars should begin falling off those sheep in early January.
