Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) finished releasing 15 wolves from British Columbia in Colorado on Saturday at undisclosed locations in Pitkin and Eagle counties. Seven males and eight females were translocated.
The operation involved capturing wolves from Canada, inspecting them for health issues with veterinarians, and transporting them to Colorado where they were held and released on the evenings of Jan. 12, 14, and 16, five at a time.
While CPW says animal welfare and safety were prioritized during this process, one wolf died following its capture. Veterinarians say its age and an underlying condition may have contributed to its death.
CPW either released the wolves on state land or partnered with private landowners in its second wolf release season. The agency will conduct three to five seasons of releases to establish a self-sustaining population.
The mounting tension between CPW, ranching communities, and other stakeholders resulted in an extremely secretive reintroduction process this year.
According to a press release on Sunday, CPW’s limited communication was in part due to “threatening social media posts and phone calls.” In the past year, two of the 10 wolves reintroduced in December 2023 were illegally shot, causing heightened safety concerns for CPW staff.
Over the past few weeks, scrutiny over how and where the agency conducts these reintroductions has swelled online, as ranching organizations have pleaded with the wildlife agency and local governments to better protect their livestock operations.
CPW has responded to these requests by offering free site assessments to help ranchers assess their risks to predators, developing a range rider program, and publishing an updated definition of chronic depredation, among other initiatives.
CPW says it’s “committed to working with livestock owners, communities, state agencies and all partners to reduce the likelihood of wolf-livestock conflict.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it was responsible for all costs associated with the capture and transport of these gray wolves, and there was no compensation or payment for the wolves themselves.
The agency also released five wolves this month from the Copper Creek pack, which was removed from the landscape last year after repeatedly preying on livestock.
