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SLICK ROCK__The Division of Wildlife is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who illegally killed a large desert bighorn sheep during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The bighorn was killed on Bureau of Land Management land near the town of Slick Rock in southwestern Colorado. The sheep was a large mature ram, one of the largest animals in a herd that inhabits the area.
The ram was shot and abandoned a few days prior to, or after Thanksgiving, according to local District Wildlife Manager Dave Harper. The meat from the animal was not salvageable.
Desert bighorns were reintroduced into the Dolores River canyon near Slick Rock during the mid-1980’s. The last bighorns had been extirpated from the area in the 1950’s due to a number of factors including illegal poaching, predation, introduction of disease from domestic livestock and habitat and range destruction.
“Desert sheep are one of the most prized and sought after trophy’s in North America,” Harper said, “and they’re one of the rarest big game animals in Colorado.” Hunting for desert sheep rams in Colorado is strictly limited, and tags are difficult to obtain. Only six licenses were issued statewide through the Division’s limited license drawing in 2000.
Harper urged anyone with knowledge of someone who was in the area around Thanksgiving to call. A $1,000 reward is being offered through Colorado’s Operation Game Thief program. People with information can call OGT at 1-800-332-4155, or the Durango office of the Colorado Division of Wildlife at (970) 247-0855. Callers may remain anonymous.
“This is really a crime,” Harper said. “Not only is a beautiful animal destroyed and wasted, but it will affect the number of licenses I’ll recommend being issued for next year.”
Uploaded: 12/1/2000
Uploaded: 12/1/2000