As baby cows are being born, Colorado Parks and Wildlife shared some sad news on Monday: another calf was attacked and killed by a wolf, and this time it happened in Jackson County.
On Sunday, people found wolf footprints in the area, along with a dead calf that had part of its back leg eaten.
The state agency said there are four wolves in that area, and some of them are from the group of 10 wolves released in Grand County last December.
Additionally, a couple of wolves have traveled from Wyoming to Jackson County a few years ago. Since then, the original wolf pack has killed 16 farm animals, including cows, sheep, and dogs used for work.
Just last week, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported that one of the released wolves from Grand County attacked a calf near Kremmling, according to Colorado Politics.
To help farmers protect their animals from wolf attacks, the agency suggested using things like flashing lights, flags, and even donkeys sent by the state. They’re also hiring people to watch over the animals in Grand and Jackson counties.
Don Gittleson, a farmer who’s lost many animals to wolves in Jackson County, said his cows haven’t started giving birth yet, and the calf killed on Sunday wasn’t one of his.
Gittleson mentioned that CPW warned him about wolves being in the area recently.
Farmers are upset with Colorado Parks and Wildlife because they feel the agency hasn’t been communicating well and taking too long to figure out when it’s okay for them to deal with wolves hurting their livestock.
The wolves brought to Grand County in December came from Oregon, where they have a history of attacking farm animals, especially during calving season.