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New residents of the Araivaipa Canyon in the Galiuro Mountains. Photo courtesy Mark Hart, AZ Game & Fish
On Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, with little fanfare, the Galiuro Mountains became home 31 new residents.
Arizona Game and Fish relocated 31 Desert Bighorn Sheep, captured Friday in the Silverbell Mountains. Eleven were released at Aravaipa Canyon and 20 were released at Redfield Canyon near Redington.
Mark Hart, Public Information Officer for Arizona Game and Fish, said that of the 31 sheep released, six were rams and the rest were ewes. Ten were equipped with radio GPS tracking collars. Each group, he said, included one collared ram.
Hart said that a survey in 2015 counted 127 Bighorn Sheep in the Galiuros.
The Bighorn Sheep relocation program has been ongoing since 1973 in partnership with the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
New residents of the Araivaipa Canyon in the Galiuro Mountains. Photo courtesy Mark Hart, AZ Game & Fish
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