Wolf turns up dead along I-70
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
A young wolf from a Yellowstone pack was found dead along Interstate 70 west of Idaho Springs on Saturday, the first confirmed wild wolf in Colorado in 69 years.
The appearance of the female wolf, designated No. 293, was confirmation that Yellowstone wolves, reintroduced in 1995, are attempting to establish new territories hundreds of miles from home.
Wolves have been sighted in southern Wyoming for the past two years, but 293's appearance so deep into Colorado astounded even one of the country's top wolf biologists.
Experts said the female probably was hit by a car during an unsuccessful search for a mate.
"It's not uncommon for young wolves traveling long distances to end up getting killed by people," said Yellowstone wolf biologist Douglas Smith. "I'm just surprised she survived the human gauntlet as far as she did."
The dead wolf was found along the north side of I-70 just five days before the Colorado Division of Wildlife holds its first meeting of a group that will attempt to hammer out an acceptable management plan for the pack-living predator.
Her discovery is likely to further polarize the continuing debate about wolves. Opinion polls taken in 1994 and 2001 showed that a steady 66 percent of Coloradans favor the wolf's return. But many Western Slope residents resent support for what they believe is a threat to their lifestyle.
The wandering wolf was born in 2003 to one of Yellowstone's most successful packs, the Swan Lake Pack, on the park's northern border. This year she reached the age where young wolves typically leave - or are driven - from their home pack.
Wolf 293 had on a radio collar and was last located by biologists with telemetry equipment on Jan. 15 near Mammoth Hot Springs on the Montana border.
In the past two weeks, the Colorado Division of Wildlife received two reports of a lone, wolflike animal wearing a collar. The first sighting was in late May south of Yampa. A second report came from Gore Pass, just a few days before 293 was found dead.
"We don't know if it was a dog with a collar or a wolf- dog hybrid, or a wolf," said DOW spokesman Todd Malmsbury.
Ed Bangs, the Northern Rockies Wolf Project leader, said the female had two broken legs, which suggested she had been hit as she tried to cross the highway.
Bangs said the corpse was being sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., to rule out the possibility that she was killed in Wyoming and then dumped in Colorado.
Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, wolves north of I-70 in Colorado are classified as threatened. But the federal government says wolves have recovered enough to remove the threatened designation, which would give the state management authority in northern Colorado.
South of I-70, wolves are considered part of the southwest recovery area and remain federally protected as an endangered species.
In northern Colorado, people who see a wolf attack pets or livestock on private land may kill it. An illegal kill may bring a $100,000 fine, a year in jail and the loss of federal grazing or outfitting permits.
Bangs said it is not unusual for a young wolf to cover 490 miles, the distance from Mammoth Hot Springs.
Bangs and Smith, part of the team that tranquilized 293 and fitted her with a collar on Jan. 8, 2003, agreed that her journey does not mean Colorado will have a wild wolf population anytime soon.
"What it means is if people will let them come, they'll come," Smith said. "But they got to make it there and they've got to survive long enough to meet a member of the opposite sex."
"This is not the start of waves of wolves crashing into Colorado," Bangs said. "But that's not to say you won't have a litter in northern Colorado next year."
The last confirmed wolf killed in Colorado came from the Conejos Valley in 1935, records show.
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
A young wolf from a Yellowstone pack was found dead along Interstate 70 west of Idaho Springs on Saturday, the first confirmed wild wolf in Colorado in 69 years.
The appearance of the female wolf, designated No. 293, was confirmation that Yellowstone wolves, reintroduced in 1995, are attempting to establish new territories hundreds of miles from home.
Wolves have been sighted in southern Wyoming for the past two years, but 293's appearance so deep into Colorado astounded even one of the country's top wolf biologists.
Experts said the female probably was hit by a car during an unsuccessful search for a mate.
"It's not uncommon for young wolves traveling long distances to end up getting killed by people," said Yellowstone wolf biologist Douglas Smith. "I'm just surprised she survived the human gauntlet as far as she did."
The dead wolf was found along the north side of I-70 just five days before the Colorado Division of Wildlife holds its first meeting of a group that will attempt to hammer out an acceptable management plan for the pack-living predator.
Her discovery is likely to further polarize the continuing debate about wolves. Opinion polls taken in 1994 and 2001 showed that a steady 66 percent of Coloradans favor the wolf's return. But many Western Slope residents resent support for what they believe is a threat to their lifestyle.
The wandering wolf was born in 2003 to one of Yellowstone's most successful packs, the Swan Lake Pack, on the park's northern border. This year she reached the age where young wolves typically leave - or are driven - from their home pack.
Wolf 293 had on a radio collar and was last located by biologists with telemetry equipment on Jan. 15 near Mammoth Hot Springs on the Montana border.
In the past two weeks, the Colorado Division of Wildlife received two reports of a lone, wolflike animal wearing a collar. The first sighting was in late May south of Yampa. A second report came from Gore Pass, just a few days before 293 was found dead.
"We don't know if it was a dog with a collar or a wolf- dog hybrid, or a wolf," said DOW spokesman Todd Malmsbury.
Ed Bangs, the Northern Rockies Wolf Project leader, said the female had two broken legs, which suggested she had been hit as she tried to cross the highway.
Bangs said the corpse was being sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., to rule out the possibility that she was killed in Wyoming and then dumped in Colorado.
Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, wolves north of I-70 in Colorado are classified as threatened. But the federal government says wolves have recovered enough to remove the threatened designation, which would give the state management authority in northern Colorado.
South of I-70, wolves are considered part of the southwest recovery area and remain federally protected as an endangered species.
In northern Colorado, people who see a wolf attack pets or livestock on private land may kill it. An illegal kill may bring a $100,000 fine, a year in jail and the loss of federal grazing or outfitting permits.
Bangs said it is not unusual for a young wolf to cover 490 miles, the distance from Mammoth Hot Springs.
Bangs and Smith, part of the team that tranquilized 293 and fitted her with a collar on Jan. 8, 2003, agreed that her journey does not mean Colorado will have a wild wolf population anytime soon.
"What it means is if people will let them come, they'll come," Smith said. "But they got to make it there and they've got to survive long enough to meet a member of the opposite sex."
"This is not the start of waves of wolves crashing into Colorado," Bangs said. "But that's not to say you won't have a litter in northern Colorado next year."
The last confirmed wolf killed in Colorado came from the Conejos Valley in 1935, records show.
