Wolves in Colorado continue to be a hot topic with eastern Utah watching closely to see how far the establishing pack may roam. Following a series of depredation incidents with Colorado livestock, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that plans for intervention were underway. Wildlife officials announced this week that the plan has been executed.
“We have captured and relocated the Copper Creek wolf pack (six wolves: one adult female, one adult male and four pups) to a secure enclosure with limited human interaction to balance the pack’s and Colorado communities’ needs,” shares the announcement. “The adult male was found in poor condition, with several injuries to his right hind leg, unrelated to the capture. Our staff administered antibiotics to address infections from his injury. Four days after transport, our biologists received a mortality signal from the adult male’s collar and the animal was confirmed to be deceased. Based on his condition, our staff believes that it was unlikely the wolf would have survived for very long in the wild…” Officials shared that the capture of the Copper Creek pack focused on minimizing losses to agriculture producers while ensuring the wolves’ health, safety, and well-being.
