Federal wildlife officials asked the public earlier this year for feedback on how Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program was going. It’s been two and a half years since Colorado wildlife managers began releasing wolves into the wild.
And one of the responses from the public contained a stunning admission.
The owner of one of the largest ranches in Colorado said — in writing — that a worker on their ranch had recently killed a female wolf to defend livestock on the property, according to The Colorado Sun.
That's a serious admission. Killing a wolf is illegal in Colorado and can come with fines or jail time. Ranchers are required to try other methods to protect their livestock before using a lethal option.
So what does the death of this wolf — and the rancher’s admission about it — say about the status of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction project?
Tracy Ross covered the story for the Colorado Sun, which is a partner of KUNC News. She talked with In The NoCo’s Brad Turner about what she found out.
