North Park wolves recollared for tracking
A wolf pack believed to now call Colorado home will be closely monitored by wildlife officials.
Two wolves caught together near North Park were tranquilized and collared for tracking.
"These wolves are part of the known pack that naturally migrated to the areas," Travis Duncan spokesperson for Colorado Parks & Wildlife said, "this isn't part of the wolf reintroduction efforts."
CPW responded to the area after several sightings in the area were reported by the public and ranchers say they have been dealing with attacks in that area.
CBS News Colorado spoke with one of them, Maddie Shoemaker, in October.
"We can chase the wolves away, but we can't stop them," she said.
Photos from CPW show a gray-colored wolf that the agency says was previously being tracked until the collar stopped working a few months ago, and a black wolf they believe is its pup.
Duncan explained how the tracking devices work.
"For the wolves in North Park, this technology collects location points at predetermined intervals. It stores them and then it communicates that data via satellite to our biologists. It doesn't let us know where a wolf is in real time, but staff can review the data every few days," he said.
As CPW prepares to implement a plan to reintroduce additional wolves,
Duncan says the data collected from these collars will be a helpful tool.
"Although it's unlikely to inform our release locations when we do begin to reintroduce wolves, it's going to give us valuable behavioral data that we think may help us understand the behaviors of wolves," Duncan said.
For more information, click here: https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/Wolves-in-Colorado-FAQ.aspx
