Colorado’s North Park wolf pack managed to kill two pet dogs within the space of just two days, Cowboy State Daily reported Monday.
The pack killed two dogs within a four-mile area on March 13 and March 14, spokesperson Joey Livingston of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department told the outlet.
The wolves killed a pet dog living in a rural area of Jackson County on March 13, and another wolf attack the following day injured another dog to the extent that it needed to be euthanized, Cowboy State Daily reported.
Livingston added that “officers found wolf tracks in the vicinity and GPS collar data for both incidents that also indicated wolves were in the area during the time the dogs were attacked,” per the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Kind Of A Wolf Mentality’: Three Dogs Attack Hunter, Leaving 298 Puncture Wounds)
Colorado’s North Park wolf pack, which has crossed into Wyoming at times, killed two dogs there within a day of each other earlier this month. https://t.co/kGzxpnZaTf
— Cowboy State Daily (@daily_cowboy) March 20, 2023
Wolves are known to attack domesticated animals, including livestock and pets. Dan Thompson, a large carnivore specialist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, told Cowboy State Daily that “wolves and domestic dogs don’t mix.”
Thompson said such attacks by wolves can be motivated by territorial aims. The North Park pack is already believed to have killed 10 livestock animals since Dec. 2021, according to the outlet.
Colorado remains set to release 50 wolves into the wild by the end of 2023 far from the borders of surrounding states. Thompson cautioned pet owners but maintained that dogs can be kept safe from wolves with “common sense” oversight and safety measures, the outlet reported.