American bags $160,000 US trophy sheep in Kluane

An Alaskan man who paid a record price to hunt in the Yukon has taken a trophy ram from the Kluane Game Sanctuary.

The man paid $160,000USto the Kluane First Nation for the privilege of hunting for a Dall sheep in the sanctuary, the first hunt permitted in 50 years.

Advertised as the "hunt of a lifetime," the permit was auctioned off in Las Vegas at the annual convention of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep earlier this year.

Neither the First Nation northe foundationwould release the man's name.

After seven days in the sanctuary, the man came out Tuesday with a trophy animal with 1.1-metre horns. With sheep, the measurement refers to the length of the curled horn.

'They had a wonderful hunt'

"The hunter was here with his wife, and she was documenting every step of the way and they were just delighted," Jean Carey, a Yukon government sheep biologist, said Wednesday.

"They had a wonderful hunt. It's a beautiful sheep, very much on the large side and almost more importantly, it was 11 years old, so a nice old sheep."

Carey said no one knew how the hunt would turn out, being the first of its kind, and going at such a high price. But she believes the hunter was satisfied.

"I've seen lots of sheep and this was a very nice one. And they really did seem to appreciate the experience," she said. "Just the opportunity to spend that amount of time in the front ranges of Kluane ... yeah, I would say he got his money's worth."

Carey said the man got the necessary export permits and flew back to Anchorage the same day on the couple's private jet.

Craig Hansen, a Yukoner who won the lottery for the only other hunt allowed this year in the game sanctuary, gets his chance at a sheep later this month.