The deaths of two reintroduced gray wolves in Colorado this spring were connected to a mountain lion attack and a coyote trap, state wildlife officials said Wednesday.
A collared female gray wolf that died in Rocky Mountain National Park in April was killed in a mountain lion attack, according to an investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A second collared female gray wolf found dead in northwest Colorado in May died from its injuries after it was caught in a coyote trap, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said. While those kinds of traps are usually banned, livestock producers can use them for a 30-day stretch if they meet certain criteria, which was the case here.
The person who trapped the wolf notified state wildlife officials, who then released the wolf, but CPW received a signal from the wolf’s collar the next day that it had died.
State officials suspended all 30-day trap permits for foothold traps, snares and instant-kill traps “pending further review,” the agency said.
Federal wildlife officials are still investigating the May 31 death of a collared male gray wolf.
Reintroduced gray wolves in Colorado are surviving at normal rates, and the average gray wolf lives between 3 and 4 years in the Rocky Mountains, according to CPW.
State officials named three new wolf packs in Routt, Jackson and Rio Blanco counties this summer and confirmed the birth of at least four pups.
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