JACKSON (WNE) — A Jackson Hole man lost his job and housing after taking home a young bighorn sheep that was acting out of sorts.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department warden Kyle Lash received a report last week of the potentially illegal animal possession, which he investigated.

“To be consistent with past cases, a warning was issued on this since I couldn’t prove the malicious act,” Lash told the News&Guide.

The man, a short-term resident from Florida, told Lash his plan was to bring the animal into the Wyoming Game and Fish Department office. But the office was closed on the weekend, and friends told him that he should put the months-old ungulate back where he found it — and he did.

Lash reviewed cellphone videos that showed the man found the “funky”-behaving lamb down Flat Creek Road around 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21. 

The man’s dog was licking the sheep, which was lying on the ground. Lash also reviewed a video of the sheep running off in the same area; the video was date-stamped at 8:49 p.m. the same night.

“He showed me a video of him releasing it, saying, ‘Go find your mother!’” Lash said.

In that time in between, however, the wild bighorn did spend some time in the man’s former quarters.

The News&Guide was able to reach the person Lash warned, who said he lost his job and housing in the aftermath of taking the baby bighorn sheep home. The man otherwise declined to comment and asked that his name not be used in this story. The request was granted because he was not charged with a crime.

When people encounter baby wildlife, wildlife managers recommend leaving them be.