DENVER — Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced on Monday that they have begun an operation to capture and relocate an uncollared fifth gray wolf pup believed to be from the Copper Creek pack.
After the initial recapture of two adult wolves and four pups from the pack earlier this month, biologists placed several cameras in the area to monitor for any activity to see if there were any additional pups, CPW said.
On Sept. 9, CPW said they had captured all six wolves from the Copper Creek pack. One of the wolves died shortly afterward. The operation was part of an effort by CPW to relocate the pack after wolves killed livestock.
On that same day, CPW told 9NEWS in an email that they continued to search through the weekend of Sept. 7 and 8 after the fourth pup was found. CPW stated they were, "confident we have found all of the wolves in the pack."
On Sept. 20, CPW staff went to retrieve the cameras and after reviewing the photos, they confirmed the presence of another gray wolf pup believed to be another member of the Copper Creek pack. According to the organization, they began operations soon after the discovery to reunite it with its siblings and mother and prepare for winter release.
In August, a man saw three of the pups playing in a puddle. It was the first time any of the Copper Creek pups were captured on video and photos.
The wolf who died after capture was underweight and had several injuries to his right hind leg, which CPW said were unrelated to the capture. Their staff tried to treat the wolf with antibiotics, but he died four days later. The agency said the wolf likely would not have survived for long in the wild.
One other of the 10 gray wolves that CPW released in Grand and Summit counties in mid-December, as part of a voter-approved reintroduction program, died earlier this year. The wolf was most likely killed by a mountain lion.
In 2021, two wolves that dispersed into Jackson County on their own produced six pups.
This article includes reporting from Marissa Solomon.
