The animal, nicknamed “Tamarack,” died in its sleep Friday night, said Tim Flaherty, the resort’s executive director. He was told it was due to renal failure.
Last Sunday, the ski patrol at Tamarack Resort was called out after a family reported finding the sheep buried up to its head in snow while back country skiing.
"We were skiing in the trees and I came around a tree and looked to my left and for whatever reason I looked right at him. It was just literally his head sticking out of the snow," Chris Simboli told KTVB News.
Rescuers dug the sheep, nicknamed "Tamarack," out of the drift and took it down the hill in a toboggan to a local ranch, where Lee O'Dell took care of it.
In spite of O'Dell's efforts to nurse her back to health, the sheep died nearly a week after the rescue.
Officials say there is no way to tell how long the sheep was stuck in the snow, but estimated that it had been several days or longer.
(KBOI - Jan 14, 2013)
