Fort Collins Coloradoan
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Mystery continues to shroud the circumstances of how Colorado’s reintroduced wolf 2309 died, prompting wide speculation from the public and many unanswered questions from state and federal wildlife agencies.
Speculation of wolf 2309’s death swirls as Colorado’s imminent next round of reintroduced wolves continues under a cloak of secrecy with Colorado Parks and Wildlife stating threats of safety to its staff and wolves are a concern at a legislative hearing Wednesday.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have released scant information after a necropsy was performed by the federal agency. A Jan. 2 news release announcing the necropsy results only stated “a gunshot wound initiated the poor condition of the wolf and ultimately led to the cause of death.”
The Coloradoan filed requests for the full necropsy and investigation under federal open records laws. Since the case has not been closed, the request is pending.
The Coloradoan questioned officials with both agencies, seeking additional information about the circumstances surrounding the death of the wolf, which was released as part of the state’s initial reintroduction in late December of 2023.
Wolf 2309 was the breeding male of the Copper Creek pack that was captured during a removal operation led by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in late August and early September of 2024. The pack was removed due to repeated depredations on a nearby ranch in Grand County.
The wolf was found dead Sept. 3, while it was in captivity.
Despite Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials publicly declaring a desire to be more transparent this year regarding its wolf recovery program after a rocky first year of the program, spokespersons with both agencies declined to answer most questions. They cited an ongoing law enforcement investigation into the wolf’s death as the reason the agencies would not provide additional information.
The following is a summary of questions asked of the agencies with context provided about why those questions were asked. Given the lack of answers, the Coloradoan also asked two wolf experts to weigh in as an attempt to fill in the holes in the wildlife agencies’ stories.
How did Colorado Parks and Wildlife initially identify wolf 2309 had likely suffered injuries consistent with an attack by another animal?
CPW response: The agency did not answer the question.
Context: CPW Director Jeff Davis said at a news conference regarding the capture of the Copper Creek pack Sept. 9, six days after the death of wolf 2309, that those wolves remained under the exclusive ownership, possession and control of the agency.
At the media conference Davis said, “The (death of the) male, we think, in this case was not human caused.”
Eric Odell, the agency’s wolf conservation program manager, said it was, “too soon to tell, the necropsy will give us a lot more information. It does not look like it was a kick injury from an ungulate (hoofed animal) or something like that. So it’s probably another carnivore type animal attack but we don’t have any conclusive evidence yet.”
Was wolf 2309 examined at the time of capture?
CPW response: The agency did not answer the question.
Context: The Coloradoan was seeking more details as to why the agency initially believed the wounds were caused by another animal.
Davis at the September news conference said CPW staff, including an agency wildlife veterinarian and wildlife biologists, were present when 2309 was captured, sedated and at the holding facility to assess the wolf’s health.
The examination indicated the wolf suffered several injuries to its right hind leg unrelated to the capture. The animal’s body condition had deteriorated so much by late August that survival in the wild was unlikely. Staff administered antibiotics to the wolf until his GPS collar gave a mortality signal that the wolf was dead.
Despite that, the appearance or possibility of a gunshot wound was not mentioned by CPW at that time.
Did CPW during the capture and examination of wolf 2309 identify a gunshot wound before the animal left Oregon?
CPW response: The agency did not answer the question.
Context: In announcing the capture and release of the state’s initial 10 wolves, similar to the current capture of wolves in British Columbia, the agency stated its veterinarians and biologists would evaluate captured wolves.
Animals with major injuries or infections would not be chosen for reintroduction, the agency stated. Examination of the animals include age, sex, health and body condition of each animal. Animals would be treated and vaccinated as appropriate and determined by veterinarians.
That would appear to rule out 2309 having suffered the gunshot wound in Oregon, unless missed by the agency’s veterinarians and biologists, as some have speculated.
When and where was the necropsy of 2309 performed?
USFWS response: The necropsy was done at the service’s Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory (in Ashland, Oregon). Generally, the single lab handles investigations for the entire country and “based on volume four months is not an unusual timeline to complete a necropsy.”
The agency did not provide an answer to when the necropsy was performed.
A necropsy and law enforcement investigation into the death of a different released wolf, 2307, was concluded on Nov. 13, 2024, according to the agency. That necropsy revealed the male wolf was likely killed by another wolf or wolves. It had a healed gunshot wound. The agency found it dead on Sept. 10, a week after wolf 2309 died.
Was the gunshot wound identifiable without a necropsy?
USFWS response: The agency did not answer the question.
As part of the necropsy, was there any evidence 2309 suffered injuries inflicted by another animal or other injuries not associated with a gunshot wound?
USFWS response: The agency did not answer the question.
What is the time estimate of when the gunshot wound occurred?
USFWS response: The agency did not answer the question.
Exposing the Big Game 