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CBS News
2 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Three recent Colorado moose attacks all involved people with their dogs
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is urging caution after three separate moose attacks in three days across the state. The department says it's mostly a coincidence that all of the attacks happened in a stretch of only a few days. The incidents range from Fairplay on Friday, May 30, to Grand Lake on Saturday, May 31, and one in Steamboat Springs on Sunday, June 1, where a woman was actually flow to a hospital because of her injuries. In all three incidents, the people attacked had dogs with them, and in the Fairplay attack the dogs were not on a leash. CPW said without question unleashed dogs are by far the most prevalent instigation for moose attacks in Colorado. "If you have your animal off leash, you're not only potentially adding that danger and injury to your animal, but also to yourself," Rachael Gonzales, a spokesperson for CPW. "So a lot of times your dogs, their instinct, they're going to run back towards their human, which then that turns that animal, in this case, a moose, back towards you as well." In Friday's incident in Park County, two women walking with their dogs were trampled by a moose. They escaped by climbing onto a roof and used a fire extinguisher to haze the moose away. CPW said no serious injuries were reported. Saturday was a more serious attack in Grand County. A cow moose charged a couple and knocked a woman to the ground, who then crawled under a small storage area next to their house, according to CPW. Her partner shot and killed the moose in self defense. A calf was later euthanized by CPW due to concerns about its ability to survive in the wild without its mother, and inability to be rehabilitated. Sunday brought yet another attack in Routt County, where a woman walking leashed dogs was seriously injured by a cow moose. A man who was paddleboarding close to the attack in River Creek Park stopped to help and was also kicked. The park, located in Steamboat Springs, is now closed through Wednesday as CPW assesses the area. "In that case, she had her dogs on a leash," Gonzales said. "Unfortunately, she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." The best advice? Keep dogs on a leash and give moose plenty of space. Gonzales said you can watch for a few signs a moose is getting irritated, and more likely to charge. "Things like licking its lips, its ears are pinned back ... the little heckles and hairs on its back are going to be sticking up. It may be pacing back and forth," Gonzales explained. "Keep an eye on those signs, because if you start to see that, that's your signal that that moose is uncomfortable for whatever reason."
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Another Colorado wolf dead, CPW watching 4 potential dens for pups
DENVER (KDVR) — Another wolf that was reintroduced to Colorado has died, and wildlife officials are continuing to monitor several potential dens where there may be new pups. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Monday that it received a mortality alert for the male gray wolf 2507 on May 31, and said the wolf died in northwest Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife kills grey wolf in Pitkin County after attacks on livestock Because the species is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act, the death is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CPW said the cause of death will be determined in a necropsy as part of the investigation. Further details about the death have not been released, but the agency said it is continuing to monitor wolf activity, including four potential dens. 'It is likely there are an unknown number of new pups that were born this year,' CPW said in a press release. The agency said it is working on plans for translocation efforts in the coming year so that the state's wolf population will continue to grow, leading to a self-sustaining population, in addition to the new pups. A total of six wolves that were relocated to the Centennial State have died so far this year. Last week, CPW announced that it had killed a gray wolf in Pitkin County after reports of chronic depredation despite livestock producers' non-lethal efforts to deter wolves from their animals. Last month, another gray wolf in northwest Colorado died. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Colorado Officials Euthanize ‘Chronic' Problem Wolf That Was Killing Livestock
The challenges associated with bringing gray wolves back to Colorado were illuminated yet again last week. On Thursday, state wildlife managers made what they called the 'very difficult' decision to kill a wolf that was preying on livestock on private land in Pitkin County, and which had previously been relocated from another county due to concerns around livestock depredations. The lethal removal took place the evening of May 29 on an unidentified cattle ranch. It was the first time that officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife have killed a wolf since the voter-led reintroduction effort began in 2023. It was not, however, the first time that CPW has dealt with this particular wolf, which was identified in an agency news release as gray wolf 2405 and a member of the Copper Creek Pack. Read Next: The Wolf Pack Responsible for the Majority of Livestock Depredations in Colorado Will Be Relocated, Not Killed Officials explained that the young male wolf had met their definition of 'chronic depredation' after being linked to four such events in an eight-day period. They said those events occurred even with non-lethal deterrence measures in place. They pointed to 'clear and convincing evidence' that 2405 was responsible for three of the cows that were injured or killed on several different ranches in Pitkin County around Memorial Day weekend. 'The decision to take lethal management action was very difficult,' CPW director Jeff Davis said in a statement. 'Our wildlife biologists constructed a timeline of recent events that shows the depredation behavior met the conditions for chronic depredation that were defined earlier this year. We have great respect for these animals and take the removal of a wolf very seriously.'Davis went on to explain that the action was meant 'to discourage [the] other pack members' from preying on livestock. He said the agency would continue to monitor the behavior of those remaining pack mates 'to determine if behavior has changed,' but didn't specify what management actions might be taken based on that behavior in the future. It's also unclear based on CPW's timeline of events whether wolf 2405 was acting alone, or if other members of the pack were involved in the depredations as well. That timeline cites GPS collar data, which showed 'some wolves from the Copper Creek Pack were in the area' where the depredations took place on May 24 and 25. A CPW spokesperson did not give a specific answer when asked by OL whether this collar data might indicate that multiple wolves from the Copper Creek Pack were involved in the Pitkin County depredations in May. The spokesperson clarified that 2405 was 'a member of a pack determined to have met the definition of chronic depredation' and said CPW would post a full report with more information soon. '[This] is not something that we take lightly,' CPW wolf conservation program manager Eric Odell said in Friday's news release. 'Removal of animals early in the restoration process is a balance between managing populations of wolves, while also assisting landowners in resolving ongoing conflicts with wolves.' CPW also noted in Friday's announcement that it is currently monitoring four potential dens across the state, and that more pups will likely be born this spring. That should bring Colorado closer to its eventual goal of a self-sustaining gray wolf population, while at the same time giving wildlife managers more GPS-collared wolves to keep track of. There are currently 23 collared wolves roaming the state, and their movements are updated monthly in a map maintained by CPW. In many ways, the Copper Creek Pack has embodied how complicated and contentious Colorado's wolf restoration process has been. The pack was formed by two of the 10 wolves that were initially brought over from Oregon and released in Grand and Summit Counties back in December 2023. The mating pair established a den in Grand County that winter and gave birth to five pups the following spring. Read Next: Coloradans Who Oppose Wolf Reintroduction Can't Agree on How to Try Ending It Conflicts soon followed. Between April and July 2024, as wolf advocates celebrated the pack's formation, CPW confirmed multiple livestock depredations by the pack's two adult wolves. Ranchers in Grand County pleaded with both the state and the federal government to lethally remove the wolves, but their requests were denied. Although CPW's policy director told commissioners at one point that the adult pair had caused 'the main issues in depredation' among all the wolves that were relocated there from Oregon, the agency ultimately decided that killing the two breeding wolves would be 'irresponsible' and could hamper its larger recovery goals. CPW chose instead to capture and relocate the Copper Creek Pack in September. The male wolf died soon after capture, and one of the pups eluded officials, while the remaining four pups and the female were trapped and held at an undisclosed facility for several months. The five Copper Creek wolves were then re-released this last winter along with the 15 additional gray wolves that were translocated from British Columbia to Eagle and Pitkin Counties in January. At the time of the Copper Creek Pack's capture last fall, CPW acknowledged that relocation was not how it planned to handle those types of conflicts going forward. Ranchers, meanwhile, expressed their concerns that by relocating the wolves, wildlife managers were simply moving the problem instead of solving it. Read Next: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Releases Second Batch of Wolves Amid Threats, Rumors, and Growing Controversy 'By refusing to manage problem wolves, CPW has allowed livestock depredations to continue unchecked, while fostering a pack of depredating wolves,' read an August 2024 letter from the Colorado Cattlemen's Association to CPW director Jeff Davis. 'Pups from these problem wolves will be trained to 'hunt' and survive off livestock.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
CPW searches for missing boater at Lake Pueblo
(PUEBLO, Colo.) — The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southeast Region (CPW SE Region) reported that crews are conducting a recovery operation for a missing boater at Lake Pueblo State Park on Saturday, May 31, around 2:30 p.m. This event takes place two weeks after a man drowned at Lake Pueblo while rescuing kids from the water. RELATED STORY: Coroner identifies man who died at Lake Pueblo The CPW SE Region Public Information Officer will be holding a press conference at the scene, and FOX21 News will update this article with more information when it is available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
CPW lethally removes gray wolf in Pitkin County
PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) — On Thursday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) lethally removed gray wolf 2045 in the Copper Creek Pack for chronic depredation in Pitkin County. The decision came after CPW determined that livestock producers, despite implementing non-lethal deterrence measures and removing attractants that lured in wolves, had experienced chronic wolf depredation. The agency confirmed four depredation events between May 17 and May 25 and will continue to monitor the Copper Creek Pack for behavioral changes. CPW documented the following timeline of events between May 17 and May 25 for the Copper Creek Pack wolf: Friday, May 23: CPW found evidence that a gray wolf killed a calf on private property. Saturday, May 17: Wolf-caused injury found on a calf on private property. Saturday, May 24: CPW found evidence that a gray wolf killed one calf and injured another on private property. Sunday, May 25: CPW found evidence that a gray wolf injured a cow and a calf on private property. For all events, CPW used collar data cross-reference to indicate that a gray wolf or wolves from the Copper Creek Pack were in the area at the time. On May 25, CPW determined that the events met the definition of chronic depredation before plans were implemented to gain landowner permission and safely remove the wolf. 'The decision to take lethal management action was very difficult,' said CPW Director Jeff Davis. 'Our wildlife biologists and officers constructed a timeline of recent events that shows the depredation behavior met the conditions for chronic depredation that were defined earlier this year. We have great respect for these animals and take the removal of a wolf very seriously. Removal of problem animals is unfortunate and rare, but consistent with the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.' Chronic depredation is the frequent and consistent injuring or death of a producer's livestock or working dogs caused by the same wolf or wolf pack within 30 days. CPW determines four factors to determine the lethal removal of wolves that display signs of chronic depredation. These factors include documentation of chronic depredation, previous use of non-lethal removal techniques, the likelihood that the depredation will continue without lethal removal and if any attractants have been used to lure wolves to the location. 'We are committed to the success of gray wolf restoration in Colorado while also minimizing impacts to livestock producers,' Davis said. 'CPW's management action is intended to change pack behavior by discouraging continued targeting of livestock as a prey base while also leaving the pack with the best chance of reproductive success in the future. Wolves in the pack are collared and CPW will continue to closely monitor the pack's behavior to determine if behavior has changed.' CPW has shared in a press release that it will not share the location of the remaining pack members or the operation; however, the agency will monitor the location and behavior of the remaining Copper Creek Pack wolves in addition to working with local livestock producers on non-lethal conflict tools to reduce potential future conflict in the area. CPW will post a final report on its website once the investigations of the Copper Creek Pack are complete. More information about the Colorado Gray Wolf Restoration and Management Plan or Proposition 114 can be found on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
