TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — More hikers trekking through the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson have noticed the presence of the bighorn sheep, showing that an effort to reintroduce the animals is paying off, state wildlife officials said.

"Bighorn sheep have become a watchable wildlife opportunity in the Santa Catalinas," said Mark Hart, spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "Of course, you need keen eyesight or good optics, and a little bit of luck, to see them."

A survey taken this month estimates that 66 bighorn sheep live on the range, Hart told the Arizona Daily Star.

Desert bighorns began disappearing from the Catalinas in the 1990s. An advisory committee recommended in 2013 that the department reintroduce bighorns to the mountain range.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2018-10-20/bighorn-sheep-population-thriving-on-range-near-tucson