One of Colorado’s first reintroduced wolves from Oregon was illegally shot and eventually died from the wound last fall, federal officials said Thursday.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local wolf advocates are now offering rewards for tips that help identify and prosecute the person who shot the wolf.
The male wolf from the Copper Creek pack had been captured by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in August as part of a relocation effort to prevent livestock attacks in Grand County. It was found in poor condition and died a few days later in captivity.
Fish and Wildlife officials said Thursday a necropsy revealed the wolf died from a gunshot wound it sustained before that capture operation.
“Gray wolves in Colorado are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), making it illegal to harass, harm, or kill them without federal authorizations,” The Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement announcing their investigation into the wolf’s death.
A Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson told KUNC News, “As an open and active law enforcement investigation the Service has no additional case details to share at this time.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials also declined to comment and referred questions to federal officials.
Wolf advocates in Colorado say the wolf’s death is a setback.
“We are very upset that somebody has decided they want to take things into their own hands and break the law, and violate the public trust,” Rocky Mountain Wolf Project co-founder Rob Edward said. “The public said they wanted wolves in western Colorado, and is a setback for sure.”
Edward’s group, which helped pass Colorado's wolf reintroduction effort in 2020, recently launched a program that offers up to $50,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the prosecution of anyone who illegally killed a wolf.
He said Thursday that the reward, combined with other reward offerings from state and federal officials, should help prevent illegal wolf killings in the future.
“We feel that will give people pause in thinking about taking their sidearm out or rifle out and killing a wolf, or poisoning it,” he said.
Federal officials say anyone with information regarding the death of the wolf can contact the Service’s wildlife crime hotline by using any of the following methods: 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477), FWS_TIPS@fws.gov, or https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips.
