Colorado officials plan to capture up to 15 gray wolves from rural British Columbia to help the Centennial State reestablish its population lost to predators.
In a statement, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said its experts began their non-lethal hunt on Friday in agreement with the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resources.
Wolves historically lived in Colorado, CPW notes, but were hunted to extinction — local or regional extinction — in the 1940s.
In recent years, the state has tried to reintroduce the species after voters approved a ballot measure to bring them back.
In 2023, the first 10 wolves were imported from Oregon. CPW says adding wolves from BC will increase opportunities for pairing, breeding and pack formation.
“We are excited to work with BC to combine our knowledge and experience while ensuring the safety of animals and workers,” said CPW wolf conservation program manager Eric Odell in a statement.
“This new source of gray wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado's wolf population.”
Today, our team started working to bring up to 15 gray wolves to Colorado from British Columbia 🐺
The wolves will be captured and transported in crates to CO, collared, and released as soon as possible upon arrival at selected sites in Garfield, Eagle &/or Pitkin counties. pic.twitter.com/8wx6THqA6L
Chelsea Greer, wolf conservation program director at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, says BC offers wolves from its wilderness full of unknowns.
“It's incredibly stressful and raises some welfare concerns,” Greer said.
'Very grim'
Greer said now is not the ideal time to capture the animals.
She said now is breeding season for wolves, with social tension and stress already high.
Greer argues that wolf populations are also threatened in BC between hunting and the controversial wolf killwhich she says kills hundreds every year.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates 5,300 to 11,600 wolves in the province, and Greer suggested an estimate of 6,000.
“They're both pretty grim,” she said of the crowd.
“We wouldn't say we don't want that restart, but when you look at how wolves could be in Colorado and what happened to wolves in B.C., would a restart in Colorado a better chance for them to survive? It's a difficult question to answer and one we won't really know until it happens.”
The program has also raised concerns from ranchers in Colorado who worry about wolves hunting their flocks and herds.
Rancher is concerned
Tim Ritschard, with the Middle Park Stock Growers Association, told CNN that the state had seen stock deaths after the initial restart.
“Two weeks, three weeks later, we were already starting to kill animals with wolves. We didn't know what it was,” Ritschard said.
CPW says it has implemented measures to prevent conflicts with livestock such as a ranger program and “non-lethal devices.”
They also said that BC's wolves will come from an area where livestock does not overlap, “so there is no concern about bringing in wolves that are from affected packs.” in situations where livestock decline is increasing.”
But Ritschard's groups want to stop this re-introduction.
“I don't know how they can get these people ready or prepare these non-lethals when we don't even have them on the ground, ready to go.”
Greer said that the success of wolves in Colorado will depend not only on how the animals adapt to their new environment but also on “tolerance and acceptance” of the animals from the citizens of Colorado.
The BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resources has been contacted for comment on this story.
