Colorado Parks and Wildlife concludes gray wolf pup capture operation in Grand County
Travis Duncan
DENVER - On Thursday, Oct. 10, Colorado Parks and Wildlife concluded a capture operation in Grand County after images of a gray wolf pup from the Copper Creek Pack were captured on CPW trail cameras in September. With declining temperatures, CPW has made the decision to conclude the capture portion of this operation for the safety of the wolf pup. CPW announced the operation on Friday, Sept. 30. Staff worked in the area for 19 nights to try to capture the animal before deciding to halt operations. Staff utilized methods to capture the pup similar to those used during the first phase of the capture operation.
Staff will continue to monitor trail cameras, including cellular-enabled cameras, in the area and look for evidence of the wolf pup during normal staff duties.
At this age, about six months old, wolf pups can hunt small animals, such as rabbits and squirrels and forage on their own.
CPW is asking hunters and members of the public in Grand County and Summit County to report any potential sightings of the pup to CPW by calling the CPW Hot Sulphur Springs Area office at 970-725-6200 (M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.).
Information related to Wolves in Colorado can be found on the CPW website, including a brochure detailing how to spot the difference between a coyote or gray wolf, which is very important to understand with this pup in this area, as well as a wolf sighting form to help our biologists monitor wolves on the landscape.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.