Possible migrating wolf sighted near Wyoming-Colorado border
The Colorado Division of Wildlife is reminding residents to quickly report any potential wolf sightings.
Though a majority of the sightings are coyotes, dogs, or other animals, a recent report in north-central Colorado’s North Park area appears to have some merit.
On Feb. 16, district wildlife managers with the DOW were able to capture brief video of a suspected wolf. The DOW was able to observe the animal because a landowner quickly reported seeing it about 10 miles south of the Colorado-Wyoming border north of the community of Walden.
Biologists and wolf specialists who have examined the video say the animal seen on tape looks and behaves like a wolf.
“There’s really no way to be absolutely sure just by looking at an animal, and even genetic testing isn’t 100” reliable” Gary Skiba, Senior Wildlife Conservation Biologist and DOW coordinator for the state’s Wolf Management Working Group said.
The animal on the video tape had no visible tags or collars. Such indicators could more easily link the animal to federal efforts to reintroduce the northern gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Many offspring wolves lack any markings, but so do wolf-dog hybrids that could also be in the wild.
Reports from southern Wyoming indicate that this same animal was spotted approximately eight miles north of the border several days before and after the North Park video was filmed. It is possible that the animal is searching to establish territory or looking for a mate along the Colorado-Wyoming border.
Whether the North Park animal is a wolf or a hybrid, and whether it stayed in Colorado, doesn’t affect the way the state handles wolves that migrate into Colorado. Wolves are currently managed under federal law due to their status as an endangered species.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission adopted a comprehensive plan for migrating wolves in 2005, but it will only take effect when the wolf is removed from federal protection.
The DOW began wolf management planning with a series of public meetings around the state in March 2004. These meetings were designed to identify issues the public felt should be addressed when developing a wolf management plan. The wolf working group was appointed in the late spring of 2004. The group (four livestock producers, four wildlife advocates, two sportsmen, two county commissioners, and two professional wildlife biologists) was given the difficult task of coming to an agreement on how the DOW should manage wolves that migrate into Colorado from recovery areas in the northern Rockies or Arizona and New Mexico.
The State of Colorado has no plans to reintroduce wolves, so the plan only focuses on migratory wolves that might enter the state.
The Mountain Mail
Though a majority of the sightings are coyotes, dogs, or other animals, a recent report in north-central Colorado’s North Park area appears to have some merit.
On Feb. 16, district wildlife managers with the DOW were able to capture brief video of a suspected wolf. The DOW was able to observe the animal because a landowner quickly reported seeing it about 10 miles south of the Colorado-Wyoming border north of the community of Walden.
Biologists and wolf specialists who have examined the video say the animal seen on tape looks and behaves like a wolf.
“There’s really no way to be absolutely sure just by looking at an animal, and even genetic testing isn’t 100” reliable” Gary Skiba, Senior Wildlife Conservation Biologist and DOW coordinator for the state’s Wolf Management Working Group said.
The animal on the video tape had no visible tags or collars. Such indicators could more easily link the animal to federal efforts to reintroduce the northern gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Many offspring wolves lack any markings, but so do wolf-dog hybrids that could also be in the wild.
Reports from southern Wyoming indicate that this same animal was spotted approximately eight miles north of the border several days before and after the North Park video was filmed. It is possible that the animal is searching to establish territory or looking for a mate along the Colorado-Wyoming border.
Whether the North Park animal is a wolf or a hybrid, and whether it stayed in Colorado, doesn’t affect the way the state handles wolves that migrate into Colorado. Wolves are currently managed under federal law due to their status as an endangered species.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission adopted a comprehensive plan for migrating wolves in 2005, but it will only take effect when the wolf is removed from federal protection.
The DOW began wolf management planning with a series of public meetings around the state in March 2004. These meetings were designed to identify issues the public felt should be addressed when developing a wolf management plan. The wolf working group was appointed in the late spring of 2004. The group (four livestock producers, four wildlife advocates, two sportsmen, two county commissioners, and two professional wildlife biologists) was given the difficult task of coming to an agreement on how the DOW should manage wolves that migrate into Colorado from recovery areas in the northern Rockies or Arizona and New Mexico.
The State of Colorado has no plans to reintroduce wolves, so the plan only focuses on migratory wolves that might enter the state.
posted by wolf saga at 11:49 AM
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