Colorado authorities said Monday they have captured five members of the turtle and plan to relocate them. first pack of wolves to transform under the ambitious state wolf reintroduction program.
A sixth wolf — the pack’s adult male — was captured but died in captivity from injuries unrelated to the capture, officials said. That wolf had been involved in repeated attacks on livestock, and officials said he would have been kept in captivity if he had survived.
The attacks and subsequent capture of the Copper Creek pack represent an early failure in a voter-backed initiative to bring wolves back to a state where they were driven to extinction decades ago by poisoning, trapping and hunting.
The pack was formed after 10 of the Oregon predators were released in December. bitter opposition from livestock groups.
The capture effort violated Colorado’s wolf management plan, which says relocation has “little technical merit” because it could cause problems elsewhere if the animals continue to attack livestock. The plan calls for using nonlethal approaches, such as patrolling ranches with range riders and chasing away problem wolves, or killing wolves if necessary to stop continued attacks on livestock.
According to government officials, the female and four pups were not involved in the killing of cattle and sheep in Grant County.
They decided not to kill the pack, partly because it would be a major setback to a recovery effort that was still in its infancy.
“It was a very, very unique situation from the beginning and it required a unique response. Part of that is making sure that the pups in particular have a second chance in the wild,” Jeff Davis, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said at a news conference Monday.
A decision is still pending on where the rest of the pack will be released, which will happen after the pups are older and can hunt on their own, officials said.
Ranching groups wanted to kill the wolf pack. Moving them somewhere else just moves the problem, said Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association.
“We know these wolves were part of the killing spree, even though CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) says otherwise,” Ritschard said. “In a couple of years, we’re going to have to remove these pups as they get older.”
Owners of killed calves can receive compensation from the state for the market value of the animal, up to $15,000.
Wildlife advocates objected to the capture of the animals, saying that moving pups endangers their survival and calling for more to be done to prevent the pack from killing livestock, such as using electric fences that would better deter attacks.
Michael Saul of Defenders of Wildlife said government officials should implement regulations that require livestock attack prevention techniques to be fully exhausted before wolves can be relocated.
“It’s the least bad outcome of a really difficult situation,” Saul said. “CPW must now turn its attention to ensuring it doesn’t have to make this impossible decision again.”
In other parts of the U.S. where wolves are well-established — including the northern Rockies and around the Great Lakes — the predators are routinely killed by wildlife officials in response to livestock attacks. Wolves are prolific breeders, so removing some animals does not have a major impact on a large population.
The reintroduction of wolves to Colorado was narrowly approved by voters in a 2020 vote. Wildlife officials expect to release another 30 to 50 wolves in the coming years. A handful of wolves have also strayed into Colorado from Wyoming.
Proponents argued that the top predators would restore ecological balance to the area.