Rock climber discovers illegally shot bighorn ram near Colorado highway, officials say
UPDATE: The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society offered an additional $2,500 reward for any information about the person or persons responsible for poaching the desert bighorn sheep, according to a Nov. 2 tweet from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southwest region.
Original story is below:
Colorado officials are asking for the public’s help after a ram was found shot and killed out of season.
A rock climber spotted the desert bighorn ram off Colorado State Highway 141 between Grand Junction and Gateway on Monday, Oct. 31, according to a news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers. The ram had been shot in its front shoulder.
After investigating, wildlife officers determined the ram was shot at least 24 hours before it was discovered. CPW says it is now investigating the poaching incident, which took place out of season, according to officer Kevin Duckett.
“The ram was shot and left there with nothing removed from it,” Duckett said. “There is a desert bighorn sheep hunting season in that unit, but it does not start until Nov. 1, and this ram was killed out of season and left to rot.”
It is a felony to willfully destroy big game animals in Colorado, and doing so can result in a lifetime suspension of fishing and hunting privileges as well as fines and jail time.
“Desert bighorn sheep are pretty limited, and CPW offers very limited opportunities for hunting these sheep,” Duckett said. “This act of poaching takes away from sportspersons.”
CPW is asking that anyone with information about the killing of the bighorn ram contact Duckett at 970-275-3556 or kevin.duckett@state.co.us, or Stuart Sinclair at 970-209-2370 or stuart.sinclair@state.co.us.
Grand Junction is about 240 miles southwest of Denver.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Rock climber discovers illegally shot bighorn ram near Colorado highway, officials say."
