Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has announced that at least two of the 12 gray wolves they were tracking have malfunctioning GPS collars, Validaily reported Wednesday.
One collar fitted to a gray wolf imported from Oregon was no longer functioning, while another wolf’s collar is only partially functioning, CPW said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Wolf Pack Kills Two Pet Dogs In Two Days)
CPW, however, has not entirely lost track of the animals with the malfunctioning collars.
“The animal with the failed collar is traveling with another animal with a functional collar, which currently allows CPW to monitor that animal,” CPW said, according to Validaily. “CPW has confirmed that the animal with the malfunctioning collar is still alive based on visual confirmation from an airplane. A collar on another wolf has been identified as partially functional and may not be fully functional in the near future.”
Colorado narrowly voted in 2020 in favor of a “first of its kind” proposition to introduce gray wolves, an endangered species, into several of the state’s counties. The proposition received strong support in the state’s urban areas, but was widely unpopular in rural counties, which would have to face the consequences of wolf reintroduction.
Five gray wolves were released into the Colorado wild in Dec. 2023, with CPW calling the event “[a] historic day” and noting that the wolves were “fitted with GPS collars.”
A historic day for Colorado and for the first time ever — we released 5 wolves, 3 males and 2 females, in Grand County today.
Captured in Oregon, the wolves were evaluated by our veterinarians & biologists, fitted with GPS collars & transported to Colorado for their release. pic.twitter.com/1Q1EiRxoZf
— Colorado Parks and Wildlife (@COParksWildlife) December 18, 2023
Five more were released shortly after, according to Validaily. The outlet also noted that two other wolves were captured in the state’s North Park area in Feb. 2023 and were fitted with collars, bringing the total number of tracked wolves to 12.
The gray wolf reintroduction project aims to transfer between 30 to 50 wolves in total to Colorado over a three-to-five year time period, according to CPW’s website.