A pack of recently released wolves is heading toward the state lines and approaching the Wyoming border.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife had released 10 endangered wolves equipped with a GPS satellite collar into a remote forest in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in December 2023.
The agency has now published a new map showing its movement between January 23 and February 27.
According to the data, two of the 10 wolves have been confirmed to have recently entered Moffat County, which is less than 50 miles from the Wyoming border, where killing wolves is legal year-round.
A new map released by Colorado officials shows the movements of 12 gray wolves across the state, two of them coming very close to the Wyoming border.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife had released 10 endangered gray wolves equipped with a GPS satellite collar into a remote forest in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in December 2023.
The appearance was first noticed by Moffat County sheep rancher Jorgiea Raftopoulos, who said she found wolf tracks about a mile from her ranch near Hamilton on Feb. 16.
This was later verified by CPW officials and confirmed that the wolves were about 43 miles from the Wyoming border.
John Michael Williams, a Colorado resident who runs the ‘Colorado Wolf Tracker’ Facebook page estimated the duo will potentially cross the border in the next four to six weeks.
‘If you had a crystal ball, what would you think? I think sometime within the next four to six weeks, we will have a crossover, or maybe a couple of crossovers.
“And I think we’re going to see some of them get shot,” Williams said. Cowboy State Journal.
The remaining eight are spread between the state’s western edge of Larimer County and south into parts of Summit, Eagle and Garfield counties.
Wyoming ranchers have previously said they are prepared to use any means necessary to defend their livestock if any of the wolves cross the border.
According to the data, two of the 10 wolves have been confirmed to have recently entered Moffat County, which is less than 50 miles from the Wyoming border, where killing wolves is legal year-round.
Jim Magagna, a Wyoming sheep rancher, called it “positive” that wolves “can be eliminated” if they cross the state line.
‘On the positive side, if any of those wolves cross into Wyoming, they will no longer be protected. “They are classified as predators and can be eliminated,” said sheep farmer Jim Magagna.
By crossing the border line, a wolf enters Wyoming’s 53-million-acre “predator zone,” which covers about 85 percent of the state, and goes from being an “endangered” animal to one You can shoot him as soon as you see him.
This allows ranchers to shoot or trap wolves at any time, without a license or bag limits.
CPW has also clarified that the agency has no plans to recapture wolves that cross into Wyoming.
Eric Odell, species conservation program manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said 9NEWS: “If our released wolves go north to Wyoming, they will do what they do and there is no plan to recapture those wolves.”
CPW has also clarified that the agency has no plans to recapture wolves that cross into Wyoming.
The possibility of Wyoming ranchers killing the two wolves in Moffat County has not fazed any CPW officials.
The possibility of Wyoming ranchers killing the two wolves in Moffat County has not fazed any CPW officials.
CPW public information officer Joey Livingston said Field and current Recent wolf movements are consistent with expectations laid out in the state’s reintroduction plan.
‘In previous reintroductions in other states, we have seen wolves travel between 20 and 140 miles from reintroduction sites.
‘Within our draft plan, we created boundaries 60 miles from Colorado’s northern, western and southern borders. The goal is to reintroduce them within that 60-mile buffer zone, to try to ensure that they remain in Colorado,” Livingston said.
But the potential crossing of predators is not the first cross-border problem that states have faced.
In September, the Colorado Sun reported that at least one wolf died after crossing into Wyoming.
Reintroduction has proven to be a contentious point. Gray wolves were nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century
In September, the Colorado Sun reported that at least one wolf died after crossing into Wyoming.
The publication cited reports from ranchers and other interested parties, but Wyoming officials declined to confirm the death.
Rather, they claimed the information was confidential under an 11-year-old state policy aimed at masking the identity of people who legally kill wolves in the state.
Reintroduction has proven to be a contentious point. Gray wolves were nearly hunted to extinction in the 20th century.
In 1905, the federal government infected animals with mange. A decade later, Congress passed a law requiring their removal from federal lands.
By 1960, the animals had been practically exterminated from their former habitat, under the same pretext that they represented a threat to livestock and big game.