TUCSON, Ariz. - Bighorn sheep have been spotted in an Oro Valley neighborhood this week.
Multiple people in the area took photos and videos of the animals and posted them to social media.
News 4 Tucson spoke with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. They say they saw one video on social media that caused them some concern.
Public information officer Mark Hart says, “The comments that we were seeing on social media suggested that people thought they were thirsty. The ram in the video is a roamer like any young ram. He was just checking things out and grabbing a quick drink. They are well adapted to life in the desert. There is probably groundwater from the onset of the monsoon in the Catalinas now.”
Game and Fish said bighorn sheep can even go one week without water.
If people start putting out food and water, department officials said there can be a range of dangers to bighorn sheep in a residential setting.
Hart asks the public not to put out food or water sources for the animals. If you can, encourage the animals to go back up the mountain by waving your arms or yelling.
Hart says, “The video is sensational and the public is responding very well. We’re all about watchable wildlife, but we prefer if people watch wildlife in a natural environment.”
If people want to provide water for wildlife in an animal’s natural environment, they can access that information here.