State wildlife officials are investigating the shooting death of a prairie dog east of Sonoita last week.
An Oro Valley deer hunter is suspected of killing the black-tailed prairie dog Friday in a U.S. Bureau of Land Management area along Arizona 82 that is off- limits to prairie dog hunting, said Mark Hart, a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
A department employee was in the area when he heard gunshots, Hart said. The employee interviewed three people, one of whom said he had been shooting at a coyote, Hart said.
The prairie dog was found dead a short time later, Hart said.
The hunter has not been cited pending completion of the investigation, Hart said. A citation for taking wildlife from a closed area, a Class 2 misdemeanor, has a maximum penalty of four months in prison and a $750 fine, according to the Arizona Revised Statutes.
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The hunter could also be liable for a civil fine of $50 or more for illegally taking or wounding small game.
The animal was one of more than 100 transported from New Mexico in October 2008 in hopes of reintroducing the indigenous species to Southern Arizona, Hart said.
The area where the shooting occurred has signs indicating prairie dog hunting is banned indefinitely while federal and state officials observe, feed and count the prairie dogs until their population is re-established, Hart said.
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