Colorado ranchers wary after video of wolf pups surfaces

GRAND COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife gave an update on its wolf reintroduction program Friday, and producers are worried about what’s ahead.

A video surfaced online on Tuesday of three wolf pups in Grand County — a county that’s already seen numerous depredations.

CPW’s Reid Dewalt, the deputy director of policy, told commissioners that the existence of the wolf pups showed success in the state’s reintroduction.

“They continue to explore the terrain as they become accustomed to their new environment,” Dewalt said.

Meanwhile, livestock producers like Tim Ritschard, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association president, said the video sheds the wrong light.

“I think that video kind of portrays those pups as being cute, fuzzy little animals and that’s not the case,” Ritschard said. “I mean I get that they’re playing and having fun — that’s part of being a puppy — but at the same time, they are an apex predator.”

Ranchers worry about livestock wolf depredations

Middle Park is the area that’s seen the most depredation, and Ritschard said they have reason to believe one of their latest depredations was by a wolf pup.

“I think its tough because we had all of those sheep that got killed, and based off some of the stuff that we’ve seen on the sheep — I have a really good friend from Idaho that’s been in the middle of all of this and I showed it to her, and there was one sheep that was fatally injured and she looked at it and goes, that is a wolf pup,” Ritschard said.

At Friday’s wolf update, there was also a presentation on non-lethal coexistence with wolves, with examples of using electric fencing and low-stress range riding and herding. The presenter called nonlethal coexistence methods more effective, ethical and economical than lethal control.

Ritschard said there has been a lot of stress on their animals lately, specifically the cattle adjusting to the area that are not used to this type of predator. He said this stress has even caused deaths on other ranches.

“They had a calf die from enterotoxemia and that comes from the stress, and it causes them to bloat and then they die,” Ritschard said. “What do you think caused that?”

Commissioners said they hope for the addition of a rapid response team to better the relationships with ranchers and the health of the wolves. They also noted they expect around $600,000 by the end of the year from the wolf license plates, with part of that funding potentially going toward nonlethal measures.

Ritschard said he hopes range riders are a part of that, saying their grant money will not cover through next year.

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