A mountain lion has killed a bighorn ewe that was one of several transplanted to the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson last month, state Game and Fish officials say.
Officials confirmed the kill Sunday, said Mark Hart, a department spokesman.
The yearling is the first confirmed kill among 26 sheep Game and Fish relocated from the Plomosa Mountains near Quartzsite in November.
The lion was not found and Hart says there is no longer an effort to find the big cat.
The sheep relocated last month were intended to join 12 surviving bighorns from a group of 31 that were released in the Catalinas in November 2013. The other animals from that initial transplant have died, most of them the victims of mountain lions. Three mountain lions have been killed for preying on sheep.
Sixteen bighorn sheep - 12 ewes and four rams - were released in the Catalina Mountains on Nov. 21, and they appeared to be move toward 14 bighorns released by the agency the day before. The sheep released Nov. 20 were from the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix.
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The newly transplanted bighorn sheep were released near the Pusch Ridge habitat where the surviving sheep from 2013 are living.
Three bighorn rams died during capture operations.
The status of lambs born in the range from the 2013 is not known.
Wildlife officers keep track of the animals with GPS collars.
