Officials at Saguaro National Park are asking for the public’s help finding out who damaged several cactuses at the park.
At least nine saguaros were damaged, either chopped into parts or slashed, along with some prickly pear and cholla. The maimed cactuses were discovered Saturday afternoon along the Gould Mine Trail at the park’s unit west of Tucson.
The public response has been immediate, said Chief Ranger Ray O’Neil.
"People are outraged," he said. "And I can say that from our social media sites, from our Web page, from the number of calls that we’ve gotten to our tip line, from the fact that I’ve talked to other media sources who said that this is one of the leading stories in Southern Arizona right now."
O'Neil added that this kind of destruction is rare at the park.
"Two years ago, when this happened, it was some young people that should have known better but didn’t know better," he said. "We don’t know yet what the case is this go-round, but there’s a strong sense of, ‘Why would you do this? Why would you do this anywhere, but certainly why would you do this in a national park?'"
The vandalism likely happened Friday night or Saturday morning, O'Neil said. Park officials want to hear from anyone with information about the incident. The public can call the park's tip line at 520-733-5118.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been modified to reflect the spelling of prickly pear cactus.
Updated 2/8/2016 at 11:50 a.m.
