Colorado gray wolf deaths linked to mountain lion attack, coyote trap

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.