Parks and Wildlife confirms second livestock depredation by wolves occurred in Jackson County
Todd Schmidt/Courtesy photo
Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed that a wolf or wolves killed another calf in Colorado – this time in Jackson County. This is the second depredation in a week, the first happened in Grand County on April 2.
On the morning of April 7, wildlife officials responded to a depredation event in the area known as North Park and found a dead calf. It had injuries consistent with wolf depredation. This included a partially consumed hindquarter. During their field investigation, officials also found partial wolf tracks in the same area, according to a news release from Parks and Wildlife.
The news release stated that the agency “is aware of four wolves in the area and these included wolves that were released in December 2023 and a wolf or wolves with known territory in North Park.”
Two wolves are known to roam the North Park area who naturally migrated from Wyoming. The North Park wolves have a history of livestock depredation – their last confirmed kill was in November 2023.
At this time, Parks and Wildlife states that it will not release the specific location or the specific wolves involved in the depredation.
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“Identifying the wolf or wolves potentially involved could allow someone to determine the specific location of those animals,” Parks and Wildlife stated.
About Parks and Wildlife’s wolf management plan
The producer who lost the calf will be entitled to the fair market value of the animal if a claim is submitted, as laid out in their management’s plan compensation program.
The agency stated it is working with the Colorado Department of Agriculture and to build “the capacity to anticipate and prepare for predator livestock incidents.” Currently, the two agencies are prepared to bring in range riders in the coming weeks, along with other tools to help ranchers with non-lethal deterrence.
Range riders are boot-on-the-ground individuals who peruse the landscape on horseback to proactively manage livestock and search for signs of predators.
This story is from SkyHiNews.com
