CDFW Seeking Tips After Finding Desert Bighorn Skull
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 4:17 pm
A strange story. We know they are mostly Sierra, but the skull found in Newark, CA?
source: https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2016/03/ ... orn-skull/MARCH 7, 2016
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers are looking for any information the public may have regarding an abandoned skull of a mature male desert bighorn sheep found last May in Alameda County.
The skull was found near Newpark Mall in Newark, in an area with very limited pedestrian traffic. It was in good condition with some flesh and hair still attached to the skull, and it appeared as though someone attempted to conceal it. Desert bighorn sheep are native to California, but are found primarily in the southeastern mountainous areas. They do not naturally occur anywhere near the area where the skull was found.
Lawful hunting of bighorn sheep occurs annually in California, but is heavily regulated with very limited opportunities. In 2015, only 11 bighorn sheep hunting tags were issued by CDFW. Wildlife officers are confident the skull was not legally harvested.
Anyone with information about the skull is encouraged to call CalTIP, CDFW’s confidential secret witness program, at (888) 334-2258 FREE or send a text to tip411. Both options allow the public to provide wildlife officers with factual information to assist in this investigation.
For more information on the CalTIP program or to download the CalTIP app, please visit http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/enforcement/caltip.
Media Contact:
Lt. Chris Stoots, CDFW Law Enforcement Division, (530) 523-6720
Andrew Hughan, CDFW Communications, (916) 322-8944
Really, this is very near to where I live, wondering if someone had it as a pet, stranger things have happened.