As Colorado prepares to reintroduce more wolves, increased worry over them being shot has prompted a conservation group to set up a $50,000 reward fund for wolf poaching tips.
The reward has been in the works for months, but the timing of its announcement Thursday was prompted by a bullet wound recently found in a Colorado wolf carcass, members of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project told Cowboy State Daily.
The wolf project and partners will offer up to $1,000 “for flagrant cases” of illegal wolf killings in Colorado, according to the group’s announcement.
“We felt that the news about the necropsy finding a bullet wound in that wolf” made the timing right for the tip reward fund, Rob Edward, Rocky Mountain Wolf Project co-founder and president, told Cowboy State Daily.
The Bullet Wound
A healed-over bullet wound was discovered during the necropsy of a male wolf found dead in Grand County, Colorado, in September, the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service (FWS) reported earlier this month.
It was identified as Wolf 2307, and the wound was discovered on one of the animal’s legs. The bullet probably wasn’t what killed it.
Wolf 2307 was most likely killed by another wolf, according to FWS. Wolves sometimes fight to the death in territorial disputes.
The discovery of the bullet wound sparked speculation over whether it had been shot in Colorado or back in its home state of Oregon.
Which State Was It Shot In?
That wolf was among 10 that were captured in Oregon and released in Colorado in December 2023, initiating Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program.
There’s video taken of Wolf 2307 in Colorado that shows the animal limping. That could indicate that the wolf was shot and wounded in Colorado, Matt Barnes, the board secretary and coexistence advisor for the wolf project, told Cowboy State Daily.
Edward said the wolf project has pressed wildlife officials for more information regarding which state the wolf was shot in, but so far hasn’t had any luck.
“Believe me, we’re trying,” he said.
Pushing Wolves Into Wyoming Is ‘Illegal’
There was already and established wolf pack in the North Park, Colorado, area before the reintroduced wolves were brought in from Oregon.
The North Park pack was probably formed by wolves that migrated in from Wyoming in 2019-2020.
However, that pack effectively ceased to exist with only two survivors, both males, known to remain in Colorado.
There’s been speculation that other members of the North Park pack crossed back over into Wyoming, where it’s legal to shoot wolves on sight, and were killed.
“If those wolves were pushed by people from Colorado into Wyoming, that would be illegal,” Barnes said.
Preemptive Protection
Some Colorado ranchers have expressed increasing frustration with wolves in that state. One family near the Wyoming state line said their ranch had become a “grocery store for wolves.”
Nevertheless, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recently announced plans to bring up to 15 more wolves to Colorado from British Columbia, Canada.
Those wolves will be released either late this year or early next year, according to CPW.
The next round of reintroductions also played into the decision to set up the poaching tip reward fund, Edward said.
It (wolf poaching) is always a concern, and the more wolves there are on the ground, the more opportunity there is for illegal activity on the ground,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
