The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services killed a male gray wolf in Wyoming after it attacked and killed five sheep. The wolf, known as 2505-BC, was part of a program to reintroduce wolves to Colorado. This incident occurred despite efforts to repopulate the gray wolf species in various states, including California, where the population has rebounded with about 70 wolves in nine packs. The wolf was translocated from British Columbia as part of a relocation program approved by voters. The federal agency was unaware that the wolf was wearing a GPS collar maintained by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which had received a mortality alert for the wolf on the same day.
Wolves are known to travel long distances in search of food or mates, and this particular wolf had crossed from Colorado into Wyoming before being killed. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been relocating gray wolves from the northern Rockies in British Columbia to various areas west of the Continental Divide in Colorado since the legislation was passed in 2020. Over 30 wolves have been brought to the state as part of reintroduction efforts. The killing of this wolf raises questions about the challenges of managing and protecting wolf populations in areas where they have been reintroduced.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
