Each week, we talk with our colleagues at The Colorado Sun about the stories they're following. This time, The Sun's Editor and co-founder, Larry Ryckman, joined us to discuss some Colorado wildlife stories.
The state has a very large wild horse population — hundreds larger than the federal government would prefer. The Sun followed a couple of volunteers trying to address that situation.
“These volunteers roam around looking for mustangs and shoot bright orange darts filled with fertility control vaccine,” Ryckman said. “This vaccine interrupts ovulation. It can prevent mares from getting pregnant for up to four years.”
The Bureau of Land Management treated 149 mares with fertility control vaccines last year in Colorado, many of them after they were gathered during roundups and released back into the wild.
Ryckman said some wildlife advocates view fertility control as a more humane way of controlling overpopulation than federal roundups, which have caused hundreds of mustang deaths.
In another story, fireflies are thriving in Colorado wetlands, and scientists are trying to get to the bottom of that.
“Not everybody even knows that we have fireflies in Colorado. They need a fresh, moist environment to thrive,” Ryckman told KUNC. “They're widespread, but also under threat across much of the eastern United States. But they also thrive in scattered oases across Colorado and can be seen flashing their mating calls in wetlands for a few short weeks in June and July.”
Fort Collins and Loveland are among the Colorado cities that now have summertime firefly-viewing programs.
