βItβs quite a rare sight,β but a few bighorn sheep have wandered through Saguaro National Parkβs East and West districts recently, the park says on its Facebook page.
Bighorn were photographed in the parkβs East district in the Rincon Mountains, for instance, on Nov. 23 by John Clark and Pamela Grant-Clark, and separately the same day by AnneMarie Zayac, says Don Swann, a Saguaro National Park biologist.
βWe had bighorn in the early years of the park, but they were extirpated, probably in the 1950s; we know poaching, illegal hunting, was a factor,β Swann said Thursday. βBut occasionally, in the last few years, weβve had one come into the park from other mountain ranges, presumably the Catalinas,β where game officials began reintroducing bighorn sheep into the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area starting in 2013.
βWe hope these magnificent animalsΒ may eventually re-establish themselvesβ in Saguaro National Park, park officials say in their Facebook post.
βBighorns, mountain lions, and other mammals need to move freely across the landscape in order to maintain their populations. Starting this winter the park will be improving wildlife connectivity by removing old barbed wire grazing fences and making boundary fences more wildlife-friendly.
βWeβll need strong volunteers, so stay tuned!β