Colorado's ambitious efforts to reintroduce gray wolves faced a grim update as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) confirmed the demise of another pack member in Grand County. The male wolf known as 2307-OR, whose end came to light through the mortality signal from its GPS collar, was found dead on Tuesday, following the signal detection on Monday. This wolf was one of 10 released in Grand County last December as an integral part of the state's vision for restoration of the species. As reported by 9News, the composition of that group, included four males and six females.
Jeff Davis, CPW Director, stoically reminded the public that such losses are anticipated, saying, "While this is sad news, these types of restoration efforts consider anticipated mortalities in our planning and a degree of wolf mortality, just like for any wildlife, is expected both during restoration efforts and on an ongoing basis,” as obtained by 9News. It's noted that this death is the third among the introduced pack since last year. Already having been captured, another member of a different group known as the Copper Creek pack died on September 3, as detailed by KKTV.
The Copper Creek pack itself, recently snared, is known for juvenile members that add to the roster of Colorado's known wolf population now standing at 13. According to The Denver Post, this count includes the seven survivors among the reintroduced adults, the Copper Creek's four pups, and two adult wolves descended from an earlier pack that migrated from Wyoming.
These events occur against a backdrop where wildlife reintroduction is as much science as it is navigating the ethics of intervening in nature. Amidst their capture, one reintroduced wolf and her four pups remain confined, albeit CPW plans for their eventual release later this year. A third wolf death was linked to a confrontation with a mountain lion this spring, while the patriarch of the first pack succumbed to pre-capture injuries following altercations involving livestock, the latter incident prompting an investigation and a necropsy by an independent third party, as reported by The Denver Post.
