Colorado wildlife officials capture, collar 2 wolves in Jackson County's North Park area
Two wolves − one the North Park pack's breeding male and another presumed to be grown pup of the pack − were captured and collared Thursday in Jackson County, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife news release.
The breeding male, 2101, was captured and collared by wildlife officials two years ago in early February. His collar has not worked in months. The other wolf collared is a black male believed to be one of six pups produced by female wolf 1084 and male wolf 2101 in spring of 2021, according to the Friday release.
Both were fitted with GPS collars. The young wolf was labeled male 2301.
The breeding male is estimated to be 4 years old. He weighed 121 pounds and the younger male 101 pounds at the time of the capture. Both had recently eaten, according to the wildlife agency. Weight of wolves can vary depending when they last ate. Wolves can eat 10-plus pounds of meat then not eat for several days.
"Both animals were caught together in an area of North Park where we have been receiving reports from the public in the past couple of weeks,'' CPW Species Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell said in the news release.The wildlife agency was conducting wolf capture and collaring work in conjunction with elk and moose capture efforts for ongoing research studies in the area.
Odell said they found the breeding male's collar on the animal but could see it was damaged. Collars have not worked for months on the pack's breeding female, which is presumed dead, and one of the pups, which was collared a year ago.
Three pups from the pack whose parents naturally migrated into the state were presumably legally killed in Wyoming last fall. It is believed only half of the original eight-member pack is alive.
"Refitting 2101 and having a second GPS collar will allow our biologists and wildlife managers to continue learning about the behavior of these wolves,'' the wildlife agency's acting director Heather Disney Dugan said in the release.
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A wildlife agency hired a contractor to dart the wolves with a tranquilizer from a helicopter, after which a ground crew fitted the wolves with collars.
"Both animals were given a health exam during the collaring process and appear to be in good health,'' Odell said.
The collars are not monitored in real time but help wildlife officers track wolves. Wolf prints, scat and wolf sighting reports from the public help officers in verifying the presence of wolves on the landscape.
The wildlife agency continues to encourage the public to use its wolf sighting form if they see a suspected wolf. Any personal observations, photos or videos taken can help inform CPW staff and fill in the gaps as to wolf activity in the state.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: 2 Colorado wolves captured, collared in North Park
