Colorado’s wolf woes continue with a rancher’s cow and calf confirmed killed in the same area a pack of wolves had been trapped and removed for killing cattle.
Meanwhile, another wolf was found dead of undetermined causes.
As some in Wyoming’s neighbor to the south lobby to end that state’s wolf reintroduction program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has announced that up to 15 more wolves could be bound for Colorado from British Columbia, Canada.
“It’s like it’s déjà vu all over again,” Colorado resident and wolf-watcher John Michael Williams told Cowboy State Daily.
The continued trouble with wolves isn’t sitting well with some rural Coloradans, he added.
“There’s frustration, a feeling of futility, a feeling of being ignored and that nobody is listening to them,” he said.
Williams runs the popular Colorado Wolf Tracker social media site and has a network of contacts among ranchers and others around the state.
Confirmed Cattle Kills
CPW confirmed that a cow and calf were killed in Grand County on Sept. 9.
The rancher hadn’t yet filed a reimbursement claim for the losses, according to CPW’s regularly updated wolf depredation report.
Those cattle were reportedly killed in the same area that had been frequented by the Copper Creek Pack after that pack was trapped and removed for killing cattle.
Copper Creek Pack In Captivity
The Copper Creek pack consisted of a mated adult male and female and their four pups.
Those wolves were taken to a facility at an undisclosed location. The adult male was already suffering from leg wounds of an undetermined source when he was trapped. He died after a few days in captivity.
A CPW official stated that his wounds were consistent with an attack by another carnivore, but no further details would be available until a necropsy was performed on the wolf’s carcass.
Some of the most common causes of death among wolves in the wild are fighting with other wolves, or being kicked or stomped by large prey animals.
CPW plans to keep the pups in captivity until they are old enough to hunt on their own, and then release them back into the wild. It hasn’t been determined whether the adult female will also be re-released or kept in captivity for the rest of her life.
Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program was initiated by Proposition 114, which Colorado voters passed in 2020 by the slimmest of margins, 50.91% to 49.09%.
The adults from the Copper Creek pack were among 10 wolves that were trapped in Oregon, transported to Colorado and released in December 2023.
There were at least two adult wolves known to be already be living in Colorado at that time. They were the last survivors of the North Park pack, which was formed by wolves that migrated into Colorado from Wyoming on their own.
Another Wolf Found Dead, More Coming From Canada
One of the reintroduced wolves from Oregon was found dead this spring, and it was determined that it had been killed by a mountain lion.
Wolves and mountain lions are rival species and will on occasion kill one another.
Another of the Oregon wolves was found dead Sept. 10, according to CPW. The cause of that wolf’s death remains undetermined pending a necropsy.
And if all goes as planned, as many as 15 more wolves will be brought into Colorado from British Columbia.
“These wolves will be captured and translocated between December 2024 and March 2025,” according to a statement from CPW.
CPW reached an agreement with the British Columbia Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship to provide the wolves.
Colorado has struggled to find wolves for its reintroduction program. The deal for the first round of wolves was struck with Oregon after Wyoming, Montana and Idaho refused to give Colorado any wolves.
The next group of wolves bound for Colorado was initially supposed to come from Native American tribal lands in Washington State, but that deal fell through this summer.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
