A dead calf was found in Grand County with signs that it was killed by a wolf. On the morning of April 2, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a report of a possible depredation incident after a landowner contacted officers to report the dead calf.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers quickly responded, conducted a field investigation, and confirmed a wolf-livestock depredation had occurred.
“The results of this investigation indicated wounds consistent with wolf depredation,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington. “The field investigation found multiple tooth rake marks on the calf’s hindquarters and neck, and hemorrhaging under the hide, consistent with wolf depredation. Wolf tracks were also found nearby.”
The livestock producer will be eligible for fair market value compensation if a claim is submitted. CPW provides reimbursement for damages caused by gray wolves to livestock defined in C.R.S. 33-2-105.8 and animals used for guard and herding purposes and may provide conflict minimization materials under its Gray Wolf Compensation and Conflict Minimization Program.
Per Colorado Revised Statutes 24-72-204(3)(a)(XXI), CPW may not release private landowner information. The landowner has requested not to be contacted.
This is the first clear sign of depredation in Colorado since the reintroduction of the gray wolf. As CPW conducted public input sessions in 2021, the highest concerns among citizens were wolf-human interaction and livestock depredation. Livestock kills have occurred in the northern part of Colorado, but those wolves are believed to have come from Wyoming.
The gray wolf reintroduction was a voter-backed proposal – Proposition 114. Though controversial, it was voted into law narrowly with 50.9 percent of the vote.
Gray wolves were hunted to extinction in Colorado by the 1940s. Since then, a few proposals similar to this, like the 2016 effort to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf, have made waves but ended up fizzling out when it came time to vote.
Colorado released 10 gray wolves from Oregon just at the beginning of the year. CPW plans to reintroduce 30 wolves over the next few years.