Colorado Wolf Capture Operations Complete

Photo credit: kjekol

As we blogged 10 days ago, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), reported that with technical support from federal partners, and as provided for in the 10(j) experimental population rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), they had begun an operation to capture and relocate wolves from the depredating Copper Creek wolf pack in Grand County, Colorado.

Today, CPW reports they completed the process to capture all six animals from the Copper Creek wolf pack. An adult female, adult male, as well as four pups from the pack were transported to a secure location for evaluation and monitoring. CPW biologists were on site to assess the health of the animals, and facilitate transportation to a large, secure enclosure with limited human interaction to balance the needs of the animals and Colorado communities. 

After conducting additional survey work following the capture of the last pup and not finding any additional wolves, CPW staff is confident that all the members of the Copper Creek pack have been captured. 

The Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan states that CPW will not relocate wolves with depredation histories into the wild within Colorado.  “The plan also calls for flexibility,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis, “and it may not at times account for every unique situation the agency and our experts encounter. This spring, after a pair of wolves established a den in Middle Park, the male adult wolf was involved in multiple depredations. 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.”   

“Working closely with internal and external wildlife biologists, CPW’s wildlife veterinarians, federal partners, and ranchers, CPW created a plan to deal with this unique situation that’s in the best interest of the wolves and Grand County producers,” said Davis.

The adult male wolf that was captured, was found in poor condition, with several injuries to his right hind leg, unrelated to the capture.  The wolf’s body weight was nearly 30% lower than it was when he was released in December. CPW staff administered antibiotics in an effort to address infections from his injury.  However, four days after transport the animal was confirmed to be deceased. CPW staff believes it was unlikely the wolf would have survived for very long in the wild.  

Four pups were captured over the course of three days and were underweight but otherwise healthy.  The pups are still primarily dependent on adults for food, they have deciduous teeth but are not effective hunters of anything larger than a rabbit or squirrel. There is no evidence that the four pups were involved in any of the livestock depredation incidents in Grand County. CPW will continue to assess the female and pups’ health and advance plans to re-release them, as they will be adult-sized and able to hunt on their own or together in a pack. This approach gives CPW the opportunity to release them into the wild together so they can contribute to wolf restoration in Colorado. CPW will have conversations with local elected officials and landowners in possible release areas before a release occurs.

Timeline of Copper Creek pack capture operation:
On Thursday, August 22, CPW began the operation to capture and relocate wolves from the depredating Copper Creek wolf pack, with technical support from federal partners.

• The adult female was captured on Saturday, August 24.
• The adult male was captured on Friday, August 30 and died on Tuesday, September 3.
• The first male pup was captured on Tuesday, September 3.
• Two more male pups were captured on Wednesday, September 4.
• The female pup was captured on Thursday, September 5.

After three more days of operations, CPW felt confident there were no additional pups on the landscape. For the safety of these animals and staff, CPW will not be sharing the location of the pack.

For additional information, please see CPW’s Copper Creek Pack Operations Frequently Asked Questions document.