Darted, examined, and collared in Oregon on Sunday, five wolves were released early Monday at an undisclosed location on state-owned land in western Colorado. The three males and two females had spent less than a day in their metal cages. It was the first time a state — not the US Fish and Wildlife Service — had reintroduced an endangered species into a US wildland.
Five additional wolves are to be captured in Oregon and released in Colorado by the end of the year, with current plans calling for the release of 30-50 wolves in the next three to five years.
Colorado ranchers filed a last-minute lawsuit to block the release, approved by voters in 2020, but a judge dismissed the suit, saying further review was unnecessary. The state has agreed to pay up to $15,000 in compensation for each animal — livestock or working dog — lost to wolf predation.
For the full story and more photos of the release, see “What it looked like as Colorado wildlife officials released 5 Oregon wolves in Grand County” in the Colorado Sun.
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Per a quiet press release, five more wolves were released in Colorado on December 22, some of them in Summit County. No publicity this time, in order to protect the wolves. Summit County is immediately south of Grand County. This brings the total to two adult males, six juvenile females, and two juvenile males. The arrangement with Oregon allows for five more by mid-March.
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Featured image: A gray wolf from Oregon is released in Grand County by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. (Jerry Neal, Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
Yay!
Double yay!
Aren’t they WONDERFUL ?! – especially the two black ones !! They look fit and healthy, and I hope to all the gods that they stay that way.
Decidedly magnificent. They were carefully screened for health problems before being brought here. And four of the five are yearlings. By all indications they’ve been given the best possible start. I’m partial to the tan/gray ones for some reason.
Unfortunately I’m sure there are already a lot of people plotting to find and kill them.
But at least that would have to take a lot of time and a great deal of trouble, Colorado. And they might even get caught and punished .. Not that it would help these beautiful animals ..
Good for Colorado…..but your last point is sadly telling and most likely true.
The wolves are opportunistic and will be drawn to any easy pickin’s. That could end up being domestic livestock instead of elk and deer. Just depends on how far they wander, what they come across, and how hungry they are. But five sure doesn’t seem like much of a threat in a state as big as Colorado.
Unfortunately, if history elsewhere is any indication, farmers, ranchers, and hunters will shoot them on sight and make up excuses later. “It was threatening my livestock.” “I thought it was a coyote.” “I didn’t see the collar.” Etc. And some wolves that found their way into Colorado a few years ago were poisoned … with an illegal poison and at the risk of poisoning area livestock.
I fear for them also. How long will they survive when so many want to kill them?
They are smart and wild and it’s a big, mountainous state. Hard to say. But five certainly doesn’t sound like a sustainable number. If we can just get enough in here to ensure getting cubs every spring, they might have a chance.
I too admire wolves, for their courage and social stamina. I’m pessimistic about their survival here in the Anthropocene.
Sooner or later we human beings will destroy any species we find inconvenient — if we don’t destroy ourselves first.
Yay, wolves!
I just hope all the haters will leave them alone.
Okay, I have to admit that I had a moment of amusement when I saw that they were released in Grand county. I hope that they leave the skiers alone…
Kinda depends on which skiers they choose … 😉
Watched them run. Next the mountain lions.
Welcome home!
Welcome home indeed. So long overdue. The mountain lions never left. My brother even encountered one near his home.