A Colorado wolf found dead in September appears to have died following a battle with another wolf, according to a necropsy conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The wolf — identified as 2307-OR — was one of the 10 animals Colorado Parks and Wildlife captured in Oregon and released near Kremmling last December. After receiving a mortality signal from its GPS collar, state wildlife officers recovered the animal’s body in Grand County on Sept. 10.
The federal government conducted a necropsy because wolves remain classified as an endangered species in Colorado. The results found the wolf died of injuries consistent with a fight with another wolf, said Joe Szuszwalak, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The examination revealed trauma typical of wounds caused by wolves and other canids and preliminary analysis of hair samples collected from the scene further supports the involvement of another wolf. Although the wolf had an old, healed gunshot wound to its rear leg, it was in good, nutritional condition at the time of death,” Szuszwalak said in a statement emailed to CPR News.
The 10 wolves were healthy prior to their release, but it’s unclear if the wolf had already recovered from the gunshot wound before it was captured in Oregon. Since wolves qualify as an endangered species in Colorado, anyone who kills or injures one without authorization is punishable by fines up to $100,000, jail time and a loss of hunting privileges.
A spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife declined to say whether the wolf had the injury upon its arrival in Colorado. Szuszwalak said the agency had no additional information and there’s no active investigation into the gunshot wound.
Two other wolves brought to Colorado are also dead. One succumbed to injuries following a fight with a mountain lion. The other was a member of the Copper Creek Pack, which the state attempted to recapture in late August after it developed a habit for preying on livestock near Kremmling.
The adult female and four pups remain in captivity. The adult male, however, had a severe leg injury and died a few days after the capture operation. While Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists used leg traps to secure the animals, it said the injury occurred earlier and wasn’t related. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently conducting an additional necropsy to determine the cause of death.
