Wolves reintroduced in Colorado blamed for repeated attacks on livestock

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Several animals captured from the Copper Creek wolf pack in Colorado will be relocated following repeated attacks on livestock.

An adult female and four pups were taken to a "secure location for evaluation and monitoring," Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said in a press release. The pack's adult male was captured but died in captivity due to injuries unrelated to its capture, officials said on Monday. That wolf would have been kept in captivity if it survived.

"This spring, after a pair of wolves established a den in Middle Park, the male adult wolf was involved in multiple depredations," CPW Director Jeff Davis said in a statement. "Removing the male at that time, while he was the sole source of food and the female was denning, would likely have been fatal to the pups and counter to the restoration mandate."

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Wildlife officials release five gray wolves onto public land in Grand County, Colorado, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Colorado Natural Resources via AP)

State officials said the four pups were not involved in the killings of cattle and sheep in Grant County, since they are "still primarily dependent on adults for food," and cannot hunt "anything larger than a rabbit or squirrel."

Owners of calves that are killed can be compensated by the state for the animal’s market value, up to $15,000.

Officials decided against killing the pack in part because it would have been a major setback for a restoration effort still in its infancy.

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Cattle cross Highway 550 N of Ridgway on a cattle drive to Centennial Ranch, San Juan Mountains, Colorado. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The attacks and subsequent capture of the Copper Creek pack mark an early stumble in the voter-driven initiative to restore wolves to a state where they were wiped out decades ago by poison, trapping and hunting.

"We are still in the early stages of the restoration plan. Our legal obligation to Colorado voters is to continue working towards a sustainable population. We also must continue our efforts to minimize losses to our producers and to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the wolves as we work towards a viable gray wolf population," Davis said.

In 2020, Colorado voters passed Proposition 114, which required Colorado Parks and Wildlife to reintroduce gray wolves to designated lands on the western side of the Continental Divide no later than Dec. 31, 2023. (JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images)

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"We will take the lessons we’ve learned here and apply them as we continue to build out a strong program alongside our federal and state partners, and both the wolf restoration advocacy and ranching communities," Davis added. "The more we’re able to listen to understand one another and increase cooperation, the better off we’ll all be in the long run. Our focus in this case now is on a healthy release of the remaining members of the Copper Creek pack."

A decision is pending on where the remainder of the pack will be released. That will occur after the pups get larger and can hunt on their own, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.