EVALUATION OF ,-:,lot -~-·~ ' , ~.ci . DESERT BIGHORN REINTRODUCTIONS

HARLEY G. SHAW

/ /I

A FINAL REPORT

Research Branch Arizona Game and Fish Department

-=~t1eral Aid in Wildlife Restoration ject W-78-R

GF 7.2: ~UST, 1986 F 45 E 81 Research Branch Arizona Game and Fish Department

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EVALUATION OF DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP REINTRODUCTIONS

A Final Report

-OCT 2 q 1.QR7 L1BRARY Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-78-R ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENl Work Plan 2, Job 26 2222 WEST GREENWAY ROAD July 1, 1981 to June 30, 1985 PHO ENIX, ARIZONA 85023 ) Prepared by: Harley G. Shaw, Research Biologist

January, 1986 ABSTRACT

The movements, production and mortalities of desert bighorn sheep released in Goat Mountain and the Virgin Mountains were monitored. Some erratic movements of long distances were noted for individual sheep of both sexes in both release areas. However the majority of the sheep remained in the general release areas confining their movements to less than 8 miles.

Reproduction was good at all release sites, thereby providing promise that each of the releases would be successful in establishing a new population. There was a known mortality of 26% of the Goat Mountain sheep 3 years following the initial release, and of 24% of the Virgin Mountain sheep within 1- 1/2 years of release. However, annual reproduction exceeded mortalities.

There did not appear to be any discernable difference between the movements, production or mortality in the sheep that were captured and directly released into the wild and those that were held in an enclosure prior to release.

OBJECTIVES

1. Determine the location and seasonal movements of radio-collared desert bighorn sheep in the Virgin Mountains, Goat Mountain and Aravaipa Canyon study areas.

2. Determine the desert bighorn sheep population size and composition (sex and age) in the above study areas.

3. Determine the characteristics of sites preferred by bighorns within the above study areas.

4. Determine the seasonal diets of desert bighorns and livestock on the Aravaipa study area. This objective will be addressed in a separate report.

5. Determine the cause of death of bighorns on all study areas.

BACKGROUND

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations in North America have declined in numbers and in their distribution since the mid-19th century coincident with the settlement and development in the western United States by man. The decline of the desert bighorn (0. c. mexicana) over the past 40 years has been particularly dramatic. Buechner (1960) documented the widespread early distribution of bighorn in western Arizona, and to some extent in the southeastern part of the state. He described the gradual decline of sheep from major mountain ranges, particularly, from those near the population centers of Flagstaff, Prescott, Phoenix and Tucson. Estimates by Russo (1956) placed the desert bighorn population at about 3,500. Since that time, bighorns have disappeared from such mountain ranges as the Superstitions, Gila Bends, Tucsons, Sierritas, White Tanks and Baboquivari­ Coyotes; more recent estimates place the numbers at approximately 3,000 animals.

Because of their disappearance from certain mountain ranges, the desert bighorn currently appears as a Group III species in the "Threatened and Unique Wildlife in Arizona" list. This listing was approved by the Game and Fish Commission on October 21, 1978 . Group III of that listing identified those species whose status in Arizona may be in jeopardy in the foreseeable future.

The reintroduction of desert sheep into histori c ranges is regarded by many who are knowledgeable with this species as a technically feasible and biologically sound means of establishing new populations. With this in mind the Aravaipa restoration project began in 1957 . A 112-acre enclosure was constructed in Horse Camp Canyon , a tributary of Aravaipa Canyon. The objective was to use the enclosure for holding and protecting s heep transplanted there from .diverse sites, and to develop a nucleus herd for later release.

Through 197 3, about 16 sheep were brought t o the enclosure from .sites in western Arizona . Range utilization estimates collected in 1969 showed that the enclosure's carrying capacity was about 15 adults and 15 yearlings. This population level was reached in 1972. Early in 1973, a portion of the fence was opened and the sheep gradually left the enclosure. By the summer of 1975 , about 22 adults and yearlings and 12 lambs had moved into the surrounding habitat.

A second reintroduction of desert bighorns was started with the release of 12 sheep into a 700 acre enclosure in the Virgin Mountains in November 1979. This area is in Game Management Unit 13B in the northwestern corner of Arizona . This sheep population increased to 25 animals within 2 years .

During November .1981, 41 . bighorn .sheep were captured in the Black Mountains and released (Nov . 12- 14) at· two sites in the Virgin Mountains: Sullivan's Canyon and Buck Springs, north and south of the enclosure, respectively. Twenty of these animals were . instrumented with radio collars . On January 18, 1982, 21 of the 25 enclosure (Hedricks Canyon) sheep were released and 10 of these were fitted with radio collars. This resulted in a total release of 62 sheep of which 30 had radio collars. A third release was carried out on the Goat Mountain area north of Apache Lake on the Tonto National Forest and a part of the Three Bar Wildlife Area . No enclosure was used for holding these sheep prior to release.

On November 12, 1980, 20 bighorn sheep ( 7 males and 13 females) were released in Indian Springs Canyon on the edge of Apache Lake.

On November 25, 1981, 11 additional bighorn sheep (3 males and 8 females ) were released at the Painted Cliffs 2 miles west of the original transplant . One disabled female ( 1129) was recaptured shortly following release, so the actual release consisted of 10 animals.

Figure 1 depicts the three study areas.

Additional sheep releases were made at the Muleshoe Ranch and Redfield Canyon in the Galiuro Mountains. It was originally intended that these releases be included in the evaluation which was to be conducted at Aravaipa Canyon, Goat Mountain and the Virgin Mountains; however, it was soon realized that manpower and equipment capabilities were being overcommitted. Therefore, it was necessary to exclude the Galiuro evaluation from this work plan . .VIRGIN MTS.

• FLAGSTAFF

* GOAT MT. PHOEN IX e

ARAVAIPA CAN.*

•TUCSON

Figure 1. Locations of Aravaipa Canyon , Goat Mounta in, and Virgin Mountain release sites. In view of the emphasis the state has placed on bighorn sheep reintroductions it became apparent that it was essential to conduct post release investigations to find out how the releases fared.

This report deals with those job objectives and release areas where the monito~ing of movements, annual reproduction and mortality were emphasized.

PROCEDURES (Job Objectives 1, 2, 3 and 5)

Prior to translocation captured sheep were fitted with a mortality sensitive radio-transmitter collar or a non- transmitter cloth collar. The sheep were also ear tagged with numbered vinyl Ritchy tags. Helicopter, fixed wing airplane, and ground surveys were utilized to locate the sheep and monitor them. When a mortality signal was received the animal was located on the ground to verify death . If found dead, every effort was made to determine the cause.

Aside from radio monitoring, visual searching was also used as an aid in documenting sheep locations, reproduction and mortalities.

FINDINGS ARAVAIPA CAHYOH SE~

This segment will be covered in a separate final report.

GOAT MOUNTAIN SEGMENT

The Goat Mountain release site is located in a remote portion of the Three Bar Wildlife Area, inaccessible by road, qnd bordering Apache Lake. The immediate area of the release site has been free of cattle since 1947.

Goat Mountain is a butte in rugged terrain, surrounded on all but the north side by cliffs. Elevations of the general area range from about 2,000 feet at .Apache Lake to about 7,600 feet atop Four Peaks. The vegetation of the area is a rich mixture of Sonoran desert scrub characterized by jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), deciduous thorn shrubs, and desert grasslands. Fingers of riparian vegetation occupy the drainages of Ash and Alder Creeks. Chaparral species occur at about the 3,500 foot level, finally changing to stands of pine and oak at the high~r elevations. Mule deer occur at the lower elevational zones; white-tailed deer at the higher elevations are most common from the chaparral zone upwards.

Approximately 11 of the 15 inches of average annual precipitation occurs from October to March.

Information concerning sex, age, tags and collars of these sheep is presented in Table 1.

-3- Table 1. Goat Mountain bighorn sheep release data .

No . Sex Age Ear Tag Collar Color Remarks

Indian Springs Canyon, November 12, 1980

1 F 4 yellow yellow 2 F 7+ yellow red collar lost in holding pen, blind in right eye 3 M 8 yellow black & white radio frequency 148.140 4 F 5+ red light blue 5 M 1 yellow green 6 F 4-5 red white slight lung injury 7 F 4 red tan w/black stripes 8 F 1 yellow white w/triangle radio frequency 148.170 9 M 7 red olive green-light blue largest of rams 10 M 2 blue white w/black triangle radio frequency 148.150 11 M 2-1/2 green gold w/black dots 12* M 5 none none died after capture, hypothermia shock 13 F 4 red white dash-dash radio frequency 148.180 bloated 14 F 2 blue radio only radio frequency 148.100 15 F 7 green N design radio frequency 148.200 16 M 4 yellow no collar right horn tip split 17 F 3 red ·- design radio frequency 148.130 18 M 4(?) blue no collar 19 F 4 green - design radio frequency 148.210 20 F 1 yellow radio only radio frequency 148.120 21 F 5-6 red " design radio frequency 148.110

Painted Cliffs, Nov. 25, 1981

22 F Y red/yellow no collar slight limp immediately after release 23 F 4 white/orange blue/black radio frequency 149.060 24 M 6 green/blue red/black radio frequency 149.230 25 F 4 blue/green red bands radio freq. 149.650 26 M 2-3 red/yellow red/black radio freq ; 149.290 27 M 2-3 yellow/white red/blue radio freq. 149.250 28 F 6 white/yellow black/blue radio freq. 149.310 29* F 5 green/red black/red hip disjointed, died at Phoenix zoo 30 F 6 blue/orange blue/red slight limp immediately after release 31 F 4-5 red/blue red/blue good condition 32 F 5-6 yellow/yellow red/yellow good condition

*Not released. Movements

During the 6 weeks following the first release, sheep movements were monitored almost daily. Based upon data collected during this time period the average use areas were 1. 7 square miles , for ewes and 1. 9 square miles for rams .

Movements from the release site were not extensive. During the period of November 12 - December 29, 1980, movement of ewes varied from 1. 0 miles to 4. 9 miles and averaged 2. 53 miles . Ram movement was more extensive; 4.9 miles and 8.5 miles (averaging 6. 7 miles ) for the 2 , radio equipped animals. Average daily movement, based on limited records, was 1.0 mile for ewes and 0.74 miles for rams. It appeared that the higher average daily movement for ewes was the result of needing larger areas to fulfill their requirements. The top of Goat Mountain, where most ewes centered their use areas, is poorly watered in comparison with the area utilized by rams. Also, the ewes did not have established, traditional lambing , areas, and greater movements in search of suitable sites is probable.

During the period , December 29, 1980 through April 1, 1981, the sheep expanded their use areas. Average use areas for ewes increased from 1. 7 to 2. 4 square miles, while ram use areas increased from 1. 9 to 5. 2 square miles. Maximum movement from the release site also increased with one ram traveling 19 miles. Un~ubstantiated reports indicate that a young ram may have moved over 30 miles to the west.

Rather intensive monitoring continued through August 1982 and by this time movements had pretty well stabilized. Also, during this period the second release of 10 additional sheep had been made (Nov. 25, 1981). Therefore it was possible to see what, if any, interaction there might be between animals of the two releases.

During the period of November 1980 through August 1982 a total of 62 aerial locations of sheep were recorded. Of these, 43 were recorded prior to the second transplant and involved 8 radio-collared sheep. The 19 locations recorded after the second transplant involved 14 radio collared sheep (from both releases ) .

The areas of use by radio collared sheep from each of the transplants are presented in 'Figures 2 and 3. A comparison of sheep movements from the first transplant, before and after the second release, shows that they did not modify their areas of use to any significant degree. The sheep from both releases had intermingled over a large portion of the established use area.

From the period of September 1982 through March 1984, 25 radio locations were made. In analyzing this information there was very little extension of movement beyond the boundaries shown in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 4 depicts the outside extremes of movement by sheep from both releases, and it also shows the primary areas of use. The majority of sheep tended to concentrate in the general vicinity of the release sites and in areas a few miles to the southwest and to the northeast, confining their movements to a range of 3 to 8 miles.

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Production

On February 18, 1981, 3 months after the first release, 3 ewes with 3 lambs were observed. One of these ewes was not radio collared. On February 19, 1981 a band of 5 ewes and 2 lambs were observed. Two of these ewes were not radio collared. Later that day a band of 2 rams and 2 ewes were observed in close association with the band of 5 ewes and 2 lambs. It is probable that these two groups were in reality one loosely associated band.

A survey made on October 20, 1981, just prior to the second release, resulted in the observation of 4 male adults, 10 female adults, and 7 lambs. It was apparent that there were at least as many sheep in the area as originally released, and that there had been significant reproduction.

These preliminary sightings indicated that the release showed promise of being successful and this was further enhanced by the fact t~at the center of most of the ewe use areas was less than 2 miles from the release sites.

Following the initial monitoring effort, which established that most of the sheep were staying in the general release area and were reproducing, the effort to collect reproduction data was limited to annual spring and fall helicopter surveys. Some difficulties were encountered in that sufficient helicopter time was not always allotted to allow for thorough coverage of all of the sheep habitat. Most of the sheep were located through radio tracking, but this could have been enhanced by a sound ground effort--particularly during the later years of the study when there were quite a few less working transmitters left in the field.

Table 2 summarizes the information collected on annual production.

Mortalities

There were 8 known mortalities among the transmittered sheep between the period of April 1981 and October 1983 (Table 3). Three of these were killed by lions and the cause of death for the others is unknown but were apparently not predation.

VIRGIN MOUNTAIN SEGMENT \ . This study area included portions of the Virgin and Beaver Dam Mountains 4.4 miles east of Beaver Dam, Arizona. These mountains run northeast to southwest in the extreme northwest corner of Arizona. Elevations range from 1,700 ft. at the Virgin River Gorge to 7,900 ft. on Mt. Bangs.

The flats and gentle slopes are dominated by creosotebush (Larrea divaricata), cheesebush (Hymenoclea salsola), and white bursage (Ambrosia dumosa).

Riparian and canyon floor vegetation include sweet bush (Bebbia juncea ), Mohave rubberbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), salt cedar (Tamarix chinensis), and desert willow (Chilopsis linearis).

The lower mixed Mohave Desert shrub consists of green ephedra (Ephedra viridis), mortonia (Mortonia utahensis), groundsel (Senecio monoensis), ratany

-5- Table 2. Goat Mountain spring and fall survey data.

Y or Date Action M F Lambs Uncl Total

Nov. 12, 1980 Transplant 1 13 20 Oct . 20, 1981 Survey 4 10 1 21 Nov. 25, 1981 Transplant 3 1 10 May 28, 1982 Survey 5 16 . 13 34 Oct. 25, 1982 Survey 9 17 1 5 38 Nov. 29, 1983 Survey 5 21 1 4 31 May 14, 1984 Survey 8 14 9 31 Jan. 13, 1985 Survey 5 10 3 1 19

Table 3. Bighorn sheep mortalities on Goat Mountain.

Date Radio II Sex Cause

11/ 12/80 to 4/ 1/81 148.200 F Lion kill 11/ 12/80 to 9/ 1/82 148.170 F Unknown. Non-predatory 11/25/81 to 9/30/82 149.290 M Unknown. Non-predatory 11/25/81 to 2/2/83 149.060 F Lion kill 11 /25/ 81 to 3/30/83 149.650 F Lion kill 11/12/80 to 9/ 1/83 148.150 M Unknown. Non-predatory 11/25/81 to 9/1/83 149.230 M Unknown. Non-predatory 11 ,I 12/ 80 to 10/22/83 148. 140 M Unknown (Krameria grayi and K. parvifolia) and snakeweed (Xanthocephalum microcephala).

The upper mixed Mohave Desert shrub includes yucca (Yucca utahensis), ratany, green ephedra, Nevada ephedra (Ephedra nevadensis), snakeweed and turpentine broom (Thamnosma montana) .

Dense stands of blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) are found throughout the area. This species has a relative cover of approximately 90- 95% of the total vegetative cover in this type. Green ephedra and turpentine broom are also found in this type.

The pinyon- juniper type contains single- leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) and shrub live oak (Quercus turbinella) . Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are found at higher elevations near Mt. Bangs.

Temperatures range from 86°F in July and August to 45°F in December and January. Precipitation falls predominantly from November through March with a 7.5 inch yearly average. Movements Sullivan's Canyon Sheep

There were several erratic movements of sheep from this group. Ewe 670 disappeared until December 30, 1981 and was found at Lizard Point, 10.5 miles east of the release site. She lambed and remained in the area until July 1982. Thereafter she used the Purgatory Canyon area 6 miles northeast of the release site.

Ram 870 was found on Bunkerville Ridge, Nevada, 24. 8 miles from the release site on March 23, 1982. He moved east to the Hatchet Canyon area where 5 adult ewes were present during the 1982 fall-winter breeding season. He then returned to Nevada for the duration of the study and was seen with Nevada sheep on 3 occasions.

Ram 840, 1- 1/2 years old at release, moved about a great deal during the study. He never remained in any particular area as other sheep did. He continually moved between Virgin River Gorge, Purgatory and Hedricks Canyon.

Ewe 700 moved 8. 1 miles to Black Rock Gulch near Pocket Hill after December 8, 1981. She later joined ewe 820 in the Grey Points-Purgatory Canyon area and finally disappeared in the fall of 1982.

Ram 17 was found dead February 14, 1982 in Hatchet Canyon Gorge, 16 miles from the release site.

The remainder of the collared sheep remained within 4. 5 miles of the release site.

Buck Springs Sheep

All of the Buck Springs radio collared sheep, except for rams 210 and 090 remained within 2-3 miles of the release site. Ram 090 moved 2. 2 miles to Hatchet Canyon Gorge, then moved 4. 5 miles north where he was killed by a

-6- mountain lion. Ram 210 moved 11 . 8 miles east to Sullivan's Canyon where he remained until the fall of 1982. He then moved 7. 4 miles to the Virgin River Gorge for the remainder of . the study. Two cloth collared sheep, 36 and 38, were found in the Virgin River Gorge with Sullivan and Hedricks released sheep throughout most of the study.

He dricks Sheep (enclos ure released)

Rams and ewes from the enclosure moved into different areas after release. All except four were found together on the first flight (December 8, 1981). The ewes, with exception of 900 who went to the Virgin River Gorge, moved into the rugged area between Figure 4 Canyon and Hedricks Canyon . Most of the rams moved 2.2 miles north to Figure 4 Canyon- Virgin River Gorge area. One ram (880) continually made long, erratic movements.

Comparis on o~ Movement s Bet ween Direct Rel eased (Sullivan' s Canyon and Buck Springs) and Enclosure Released (Hedricks Canyon) Bi ghorn Sheep

Movements of the Sullivan's Canyon sheep from the release site to the area where located on the first reconnaissance flight varied from 1.6 to 3.9 miles for rams and 1. 0 to 3. 5 miles for ewes . The initial movements of Hedricks sheep were from 1. 2 to 3 miles for rams and 1. 0 to 3. 5 miles for ewes. There was no significant difference in the initial movements of these two groups of sheep.

In analyzing data collected from the first 5 aerial flights for each group of sheep (Dec. 12, 1981 - Jan. 28, 1982 for Sullivan and Jan. 28, 1982 - Apr. 13, 1982 for Hedricks), the movements for the Sullivan sheep varied from 0.4 to 8.3 miles as compared to 0,15 to 8.8 miles for the enclosure release sheep.

Ram movements ranged from 0.4 to 4.0 miles for Sullivan and 0.15 to 8.8 miles for Hedricks sheep, while ewe movements ranged from 0. 4 to 8.3 miles for Sullivan and 0.2 to 3.9 miles for Hedricks.

Average movements for both groups of sheep were about the same. The Sullivan ewes moved greater distances than Hedricks ewes, while Hedricks rams moved farther than Sullivans .

It has been previously noted that the Buck Springs sheep stayed close to their release site throughout the study. When these observations are considered in relation to the Sullivan and the Hedricks releases it becomes apparent that it was not possible to discern a significant difference between movement of enclosure and direct released sheep (Fig. 5) . Most of the sheep stayed fairly close to the release sites, intermingled, and appear to have adapted to their new environment.

Use Areas

During the period of December 1983 to February 1985 surveys of the study area were made almost monthly. Eleven radio-collared sheep from the original releases were monitored and their use areas varied from 3 square miles for a

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: ..... ····· Figure 5. General movements of sheep from 3 release sites in the Virgin :Mountains. ewe to 20 square miles for a ram. The a~erage use area was 8 square miles .

Productivity

During the 1982 and 1983 lambing seasons, 26 lambs were observed . Ten of 11 lambs from the 1982 season were seen in January- February 1983 . At 1east 6 of the 11 ewes that had lambs in 1982 gave birth in 1983 . Nine lambs and 5 yearlings were observed in the study area and the enclosure in 1984 . Reproduction followed a pattern similar to that observed on Goat Mountain and provided hopes for successful establishment.

Mortality

Sheep mortalities are presented in Table 4. Fifteen of the released sheep had died by August 1982, and by the end of 1984 there were 19 known dead . In addition to the marked sheep, the carcasses of one lamb and one yearling were also found. Pneumonia and predation appeared to be the primary causes of deaths.

Status of the Virgin Mountain Releases

In January 1983, 14 months following the Sullivan's Canyon and Buck Springs releases and one year after the Hedricks Canyon release a preliminary evaluation of the three releases was made. Twenty- two sheep were known to be alive as a result of the Sullivan's Canyon release . Forty percent of the Buck Springs animals had died (apparen~ly from pneumonia) ·within 4 months of their release. Only 9 of these sheep were known to be alive.

Shortly after their release from the Hedricks enclosure 2 sheep ( 1 ram and 1 ewe) somehow were able to return to the enclosure. Sixteen of the 19 sheep which left the enclosure were known to be alive. Therefore at least 47 sheep were still in the field .

Another status report was compiled on July 31, 1983. These data are presented in Table 5. Of the 62 sheep released, 2 returned to the enclosure, 15 were known mortalities, 9 were not observed and 36 were accounted for in the field.

In March 1984 it was estimated that the Virgin Mountain bighorn sheep population consisted of 26 rams and 39 ewes for a total of 65 animals. At this time there were only 11 active radio collars. In October 1984 the study area was surveyed for the first time with the use of a helicopter. Fifty sheep were observed (10 M, 17 F, 5 Yrlg. and 7 lambs). An additional 6 sheep (2 M, 2 F, 1 Yrlg. and 1 lamb) were also observed in the enclosure. This information strengthened the estimate made in 1984 on the success of this release.

COHCLUSIONS AND RECOHMENDATIOHS

There were a number of difficulties involved in conducting this job as planned. The major problem was the basic overprogramming of the job and in attempting to cover too many study areas with limited manpower and aircraft time. Most of the monitoring effort depended on aerial flights and the frequency of these flights was inconsistent. It also depended heavily upon

- 8- the use of radio- transmittered sheep, and as the months passed the number of operational transmitters diminished considerably. This made it difficult to accurately judge success based on telemetry data only. For example, most of the Hedrick radio transmitters did not operate, or worked intermittently throughout the study. The incorporation of a strong ground survey effort, and increased man time, certainly would have helped.

Despite these problems it is felt that sufficient data and insight was obtained to judge all of the releases as being successful. The released bighorns did what it was hoped they would do; they adapted to the release sites, have reproduced annually, and have basically established new populations.

Of particular interest, is the finding that there is no apparent need to hold sheep in large enclosure~ prior to release. Furthermore, it was also observed that two separate releases of sheep in the same general area did not result in any antagonism. The sheep from these releases freely intermixed.

Specific recommendations are:

1. The use of an enclosure to hold desert bighorn sheep prior to release is not an economical or necessary procedure.

2. Intensive follow-up studies on every bighorn sheep release probably are not needed. After the first month or two after release, good annual · monitoring program, designed to provide classification and reproduction data, is probably the only survey required.

-9- Table 4. Bighorn sheep mortalities in the Virgin Mountains, Arizona, November 1981 - February 1985.

Age Date Recovered or 1 Sheep 11 (years) Sex Cause of Death Death Indicated

B 1139 2 M unknown 22 Jan 82 B 080 4 F possible predation 22 Jan 82 B 490 2 M pneumonia 22 Jan 82 B 540 4 M pneumonia 14 Feb 82 s #17 8 M pneumonia 14 Feb 82 B 090 2 M possible predation 31 Mar 82 H 971 1 F possible predation 13 Apr 82 H 911 3- 1/2 F predation 30 May 82 B 450 5 F predation 3 Jun 82 B 020 3 F predation 1 Jul 82 B 1132 5 F possible predation 1 Jul 82 H 981 2- 1/2 M pneumonia or predation 22 Jul 82 H 891 2- 1/2 F possible predation ? s #12 5- 1/2 M unknown 1982 Unmarked 2- 1/2 M unknown 1982 Yearling 1-1/2 M possible pneumonia 21 Jul 82 Lamb M predation 10 Aug 82 B 210 8-1/2 M unknown 1984 S 820 9-1/2 F unknown 1984

1s = Sullivan, B = Buck Spring, H = Hedrick Table 5. Status of reintroduced bighorn sheep i n the Vi rgin Mountains , Ar izona, July 31 , 1983 .

Ear Radio 'rag# Frequency* Age Sex Comments

Sullivan' s Canyon

0 149 . 830 5- 1/2 F observed wi th lamb 1 149 . 720 3- 1/2 F observed 2 149 . 870 4- 1/2 M observed in Nevada 3 149 . 810 4- 1/2 M observed 4 149 . 700 4- 1/2 F observed 5 149.840 3 M observed 6 149 . 820 5- 1/2 F observed with lamb 7 149.800 3- 1/2 F observed 8 149 . 670 5- 1/2 F observed with lamb 11 149 . 780 3 M observed, non- func . transmitter

9 cloth 4- 1/2 F observed 12 cloth 6 M dead in Sullivan Canyon 13 cloth 4- 1/2 F observed 14 cloth 4- 1/2 F not observed 15 cloth 4- 1/2 F not observed 16 cloth 7- 1/2 F observed with yearling male 17 cloth 8 M dead in Hatchet Canyon 18 ctdth 3- 1/2 F observed with lamb 19 cloth 3- 1/2 F observed with lamb 20 cloth 7 M observed

Buck Spring

40 149.080 5 F dead 1982 41 149. 010 3- 1/2 F observed with lamb 42 149.610 3- 1/2 F observed with lamb 43 149.450 6 ·F dead 1982 44 149.490 3 M dead 1982 45 149 . 020 4 F dead 1982 46 149.330 5- 1/2 F observed with lamb 47 149.210 5- 1/2 M observed 49 149.540 5 M dead 1982 51 149.090 3 M dead 1982

30 cloth 4- 1/2 F observed with lamb 31 cloth 5- 1/2 F not observed 32 cloth 6 F ·dead 1982 33 cloth 5- 1/2 F not observed 34 cloth 5- 1/2 F observed with lamb 35 cloth 3- 1/2 F not observed 36 cloth 3-1/2 F observed with lamb 37 cloth 5-1/2 F not observed 38 cloth 3 M observed \ ) I 39 cloth 3 M dead 1981 50 cloth 3-1/2 M not observed

Hedrick Canyon

1 149.911 1 4- 1/2 F dead N Fig. 4 Canyon, 1981 4 148. 957 / 7 F observed with lamb, transmitter works intermittently 5 148. 920 / 5- 1/2 M not observed, non- funct. transmitter 6 none 5- 1/2 F observed with lamb 8 149. 900 I 6 F observed with lamb, non-funct. transmitter 9 148.851 / 7 M observed, non-funct. transmitter 12 149.951 I 5 M observed 14 148.877,/ 7-1/2 F observed with lamb, transmitter works intermittently 17 149. 891 ✓ 3 F dead in Fig. 4 Canyon 18 149.971 / 2-1/2 F dead 1982 20 149.880 ( 3- 1/2 M observed 25 149.981 /. 3 M dead 1982

Unmarked 2-1/2 M observed Unmarked 2-1/2 M observed Unmarked 2-1/2 M observed Unmarked 2-1/2 M observed Unmarked 2-1/2 M dead 1982 Unmarked 2 F observed Unmarked 2 F not observed

60 sheep 2 sheep returned to enclosure 62 total

*Radio collared sheep were identified by the last 3 numbers of the transmitter frequency, otherwise ear tag numbers were used. (-