SAGUACHE COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife has opened an investigation after a Rocky Mountain Big Horn Ram was found poached in Saguache County.
CPW is asking that anyone with information about the potential poaching reach out to District Wildlife Manager William Miedema at (719)850-6364 or by email at william.miedema@state.co.us.
CPW says they received the report of the dead ram around 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, November 11, off of County Road 38FF in Game Management Unit 681. The ram was found just a little over 200 yards from the road.
The ram was shot in the guts, according to CPW, and they believe it was in the immediate area based on their initial investigation. Unfortunately, rot had already set in on the animal, preventing CPW from harvesting the meat for donations.
“This bighorn was shot and left there with nothing removed from it,” Miedema said. “There is a single bighorn ram hunting license available in S-10 and neighboring S-55, but my legal hunter for this area had already harvested a ram this year, and the season dates were Sept. 2 through Oct. 2.”
Poaching in Colorado is considered a felony and can result in a lifetime suspension of hunting and fishing privileges or jail time in some cases. The illegal taking of a bighorn sheep is punishable by a $100,000 fine, according to CPW.
The ram was also a half-curl, according to Miedema, and could carry an additional $25,000 fine for the individual who shot it.
To provide information anonymously about this poaching incident, the public can contact Operation Game Thief (OGT) by phone at (877)265-6648 or by email at game.thief@state.co.us.
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