Latest news with #TanyaEspinosa
CBS News
21-03-2025
- CBS News
U.S. agency kills wolf suspected of killing sheep after crossing from Colorado to Wyoming
A federal agency killed a collared wolf that appears to have crossed from Colorado into Wyoming and killed several sheep, government officials said Thursday. The wolf was part of a voter-driven reintroduction of the predators in Colorado, a move that angered ranchers who feared losing livestock and agitated political divisions between urban and rural communities. The animals are protected in Colorado, but in large parts of Wyoming it's legal to kill them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services responded to reports of a predator killing five sheep in north-central Wyoming on Saturday. The agency found evidence pointing to a wolf attack, including bite marks and tracks, according to spokesperson Tanya Espinosa. Later that day, the agency killed the wolf it believed was the culprit and discovered it had a collar from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Espinosa said. The wolf and collar were returned to the Colorado agency. That agency said in a press release that a collar on a male gray wolf alerted the animal's death on Sunday in the same region of Wyoming. "Wolves are known to travel long distances to find food or mates, including into other states," read the agency's statement. The agency said the wolf had been transported from Canada, part of Colorado's ongoing reintroduction efforts after the first wolf paws touched down in December 2023. Coloradans voted for the wolf reintroduction measure back in 2020. In January, wildlife officials confirmed the release of 15 new wolves from British Columbia in Colorado, CBS News Colorado reported . Two of 10 wolves released in 2023 were illegally shot , the station reported. Officials warned that the Gray Wolf population in Colorado is protected by the federal Endangered Species Act and state law, and penalties fcan include fines up to $100,000, jail time and loss of hunting privileges.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
US agency kills Colorado wolf in Wyoming where it was suspected of killing sheep
DENVER (AP) — A federal agency killed a collared wolf that appears to have crossed from Colorado into Wyoming and killed several sheep, government officials said Thursday. The wolf was part of a voter-driven reintroduction of the predators in Colorado, a move that angered ranchers who feared losing livestock and agitated political divisions between urban and rural communities. The animals are protected in Colorado, but in large parts of Wyoming it's legal to kill them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services responded to reports of a predator killing five sheep in north-central Wyoming on Saturday. The agency found evidence pointing to a wolf attack, including bite marks and tracks, according to spokesperson Tanya Espinosa. Later that day, the agency killed the wolf it believed was the culprit and discovered it had a collar from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Espinosa said. The wolf and collar were returned to the Colorado agency. That agency said in a press release that a collar on a male gray wolf alerted the animal's death on Sunday in the same region of Wyoming. 'Wolves are known to travel long distances to find food or mates, including into other states,' read the agency's statement. The agency said the wolf had been transported from Canada, part of Colorado's ongoing reintroduction efforts after the first wolf paws touched down in December 2023. ___ Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Federal officials kill Colorado reintroduced wolf after it killed sheep in Wyoming
A wolf recently reintroduced in Colorado was killed by federal officials in Wyoming after depredating on sheep. Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists received a mortality alert for the male gray wolf GPS collar 2505-BC on March 16, the agency stated in a Thursday news release. The agency confirmed the mortality took place in north-central Wyoming. Tanya Espinosa, a spokesperson for the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Wyoming, told the Coloradoan in an email that Wildlife Services responded to a sheep predation event on private lands in north-central Wyoming. She stated evidence consistent with wolf depredation was observed at the site, including wolf tracks, struggle sites, carcasses with premortem hemorrhaging and bite marks consistent with known wolf predations. The adult wolf killed five adult sheep, including one sheep that was heavily fed upon. Late on March 15, Wildlife Services removed a wolf at the predation location and upon closer examination showed the wolf had a collar from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, she wrote. It is legal to kill wolves in Wyoming, where wolves receive no federal or state protection. More: The Coloradoan's behemoth beer bracket. Vote for your favorite of these 64 brews. CPW's news release said 2505 was part of the group of wolves captured in British Columbia in an area where there is no overlap between wolves and livestock. It is the first confirmed death of one of 15 wolves captured in British Columbia and released in Pitkin and Eagle counties in January during CPW's second round of wolf releases as part of the state's reintroduction of the predator. At least three of the six siblings born to the North Park pack were legally killed in southern Wyoming in the fall of 2022. CPW's release stated wolves are known to travel long distances to find food or mates, including into other states. The release said the agency does not comment on wildlife movements, operations or regulations in other states, instead, directing questions to APHIS, regarding the wolf found dead in Wyoming. CPW has an agreement with Utah, New Mexico and Arizona where gray wolves could be recaptured and returned to Colorado. The agreement was put in place to protect the genetic integrity of the Mexican wolf, a separately listed entity under the Federal Endangered Species Act, the news release stated. CPW does not have a similar agreement with Wyoming. CPW did acknowledge a wolf released in January had wandered close to the Utah border in western Mesa County earlier this year. CPW has not publicly said if that wolf was captured in Utah or if it remained in Colorado. Reports from ranchers in the area indicated it had moved east away from the Utah border. Three of the original 10 wolves captured in Oregon and released in Grand and Summit counties in Colorado died in December of 2023. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services conducted necropsies on all three animals. It was determined the breeding male of the Copper Creek pack (2309) died in early September of 2024 as the result of a gunshot wound. That death is under investigation with a reward established for information leading to the person or persons responsible for the gunshot wound to the animal's hind leg. Results of the necropsy regarding the death of wolf 2307 was released in November of 2024. It revealed the male wolf was likely killed by another wolf or wolves. It had a healed gunshot wound. The agency found it dead Sept. 10, a week after wolf 2309 died. Wolf 2303, an adult male, was likely killed by a mountain lion in mid-April in northwestern Larimer County, according to a necropsy. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado reintroduced wolf killed by federal agents in Wyoming
