Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials killed a gray wolf from the Copper Creek Pack linked to four livestock attacks on the Western Slope this month, the agency said Friday.
This is the first wolf that state wildlife staff have killed because of attacks on domestic animals, though federal officials in Wyoming killed a collared Colorado gray wolf in March after connecting it to attacks on sheep.
CPW staff killed wolf 2405, a male pup, on Thursday night after state officials confirmed a wolf from the Copper Creek Pack killed two calves and injured three calves and a cow in attacks between May 17 and Sunday, according to a news release from the agency.
The decision comes after outcry from ranchers and advocacy groups like the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, which identified the injured or slain Pitkin County cattle as part of Lost Marbles Ranch, Crystal River Ranch and McCabe Ranch.
“It’s hard to describe the heartbreak of finding a calf torn apart in the middle of the field you’ve been tending day and night,” rancher Mike Cerveny said in a statement released by the association earlier this week. “We work around the clock to protect our livestock, only to be blindsided like this and not even told wolves were in the area until it was too late.”
It was a difficult decision to use “lethal management” on the wolf, but it was in line with the state’s reintroduction plan, CPW Director Jeff Davis said in a statement.
“We are committed to the success of gray wolf restoration in Colorado while also minimizing impacts to livestock producers,” Davis said.
Colorado wildlife staff captured the Copper Creek Pack in Grand County in August and relocated the wolves because of previous livestock attacks, which are also known as depredations.
CPW staff confirmed the May attacks met the criteria of chronic depredation on Sunday and began planning to remove the wolf as soon as possible, state officials said. The ranchers have already tried to prevent wolf attacks by using electric fencing, lights, noise makers and increasing patrols during the day and night.
One of the recent attacks happened during the day when three wolves separated a cow and calf from the main herd in a large meadow at Lost Marbles Ranch, according to the cattlemen’s association. The calf was severely injured in the attack.
May’s wolf depredations and general lack of communication have further strained the already-tense relationship between livestock producers and state officials, the organization said.
Livestock producers and many Coloradans outside metro Denver have long opposed bringing gray wolves back to the state, which was set in motion after voters approved reintroduction in 2020.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff released the first round of gray wolves in December 2023 and another round in January. A pair from the first group mated and produced five pups last spring, forming the Copper Creek Pack.
In a statement, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Erin Spaur said the group appreciates CPW’s quick response to the attacks over Memorial Day weekend.
“We have consistently called for proactive solutions to reduce conflicts between livestock and wildlife, and the release of wolves proceeded before necessary programs and preventive measures were fully in place,” Spaur said.
State wildlife biologists and CPW officials said killing the wolf is meant to change pack behavior by discouraging the predators from targeting livestock. CPW will continue to monitor the pack to see if that change occurs.
Parks and Wildlife officials have identified four potential wolf dens this spring but have not yet confirmed how many wolf pups have been born.
“We are developing plans for the coming year’s translocation efforts, so the wolf population will continue to grow, leading towards a self-sustaining population,” CPW wolf conservation manager Eric Odell said in a statement.
“We will also continue to work to minimize livestock conflict to the greatest degree possible,” he said.
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