DENVER 鈥� A wildlife team from the United States has begun capturing grey wolves in British Columbia for release in Colorado after voters in the state approved a proposal to reintroduce the animals, which had been "functionally extinct" there for 75 years.
The operation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife comes after an agreement with the sa国际传媒 government to "translocate" up to 15 wolves each year over the next three to five years.
Colorado Parks says in a statement that the capture operation follows work to adopt measures aimed at minimizing conflict between wolves and livestock.
It says the operation in sa国际传媒 is expected to last up to two weeks, with the goal to "recover and maintain a viable, self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado."
The state says the sa国际传媒 wolves will be tested and treated for disease before they are relocated, and collars will be placed on the animals to monitor their behaviours.
Colorado voters approved a ballot initiative in 2020 to reintroduce the animals, which are listed as endangered in the state under U.S. federal law, but are not an endangered or threatened species in sa国际传媒
The initiative states wolves were historically "an essential part of the wild habitat" of Colorado, but they were "exterminated and have been functionally extinct for 75 years in the state."
The state began the process by bringing in five wolves from Oregon in late 2023.
Eric Odell, Colorado's wolf program manager, says in a news release issued Saturday that they were "excited to be working with sa国际传媒 to bring together our combined experience and expertise while ensuring the safety of animals and staff."
"This new source population of grey wolves will provide additional genetic diversity to Colorado's wolf population," he says.
The state says the sa国际传媒 wolves will come from areas where no livestock is present, "so there are no concerns about reintroducing wolves that are from packs that are involved in situations of repeated livestock depredations."
But the program has seen pushback from Colorado residents, including those involved in the ranching, farming, hunting and guiding sectors.
Last Wednesday, just two days before the operation in sa国际传媒 began, Colorado wildlife commissioners voted down a citizen petition that aimed to delay the plan.
A statement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the department had addressed the petitioners' concerns, including wolves' potential predation of livestock.
At a meeting last April, commissioners supported measures that included raising the cap on compensation for lost livestock, guard or herding animals to $15,000 per animal.
At least one of the wolves that were relocated from Oregon died from a gunshot wound last fall.
On Jan. 2, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a press release saying it was offering a reward for information about the alleged illegal killing of the wolf in Colorado that had been captured along with its mate and four pups.
In a statement last September, Jeff Davis, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the male wolf had been involved in "multiple depredations."
The wolf family was captured and transferred to a secure enclosure, but the male wolf was in poor condition and died a few days later.
A necropsy revealed that a gunshot wound led to its death.
The wolf's body weight was nearly 30 per cent lower upon its death than it had been when the animal was released in Colorado the previous December, the statement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.
In sa国际传媒, the government says the grey wolf population has been "stable to increasing," with an estimated population of 8,500.
In 2015, the province began culling wolves in an effort to save threatened caribou herds, a controversial program that involves shooting wolves from helicopters.
The wolf culling relates to about a dozen caribou herds and typically costs between $100,000 and $275,000 per herd, according to a sa国际传媒 government website.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.
The Canadian Press
