The 10J Rule (Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act) was put in place in Colorado last fall and allows Colorado Parks and Wildlife to move wolves around within the state. Not just any wolves but those who won’t stop killing livestock - also known as chronic depredation.
That was apparently the case with the adult male, #2309, of the Copper Creek Pack in Grand County, so CPW moved the whole family and finished the process on Sept. 8. But, the male adult didn’t make it.
At a virtual press conference Monday, Jeff Davis, CPW director, said that the male was not in good shape. “The male, upon capture, was found in poor conditions with several injuries to his right leg unrelated to the capture,” he explained. “CPW staff administered antibiotics in an effort to address infections from his injuries and replaced the nonfunctioning collar with the functioning collar. Based on his condition, we believe it was unlikely he would have survived very long in the wild.”
All six wolves were placed in a wildlife sanctuary. Four days after transport, the male died. Davis said the male was likely providing food for the female and the pups. “This spring, the male adult wolf was involved in multiple depredations in Middle Park,” he said. “Removing the male at that time, while he was the sole source of food for the female as she was denning, would have likely been fatal to the pups and counter to the restoration mandate we have.”
He added that coexistence control methods used earlier this year were effective.
“When some non-lethal management methods were deployed, including carcass management and range rider deployment, the depredations were reduced from mid-May to mid-July.”
CPW continues to work with livestock growers on non-lethal control methods. The pups and their mother will be held until the pups are old enough to go back into the wild on their own.
