Rocky Mountain National Park officials, who just recently announced a program to reduce elk numbers in their park, might get some help from nature. Officials say a black-colored canine spotted on December 4 possibly was a wolf.
According to a story in the Estes Park Trail-Gazette, the animal was seen in Moraine Park by two park volunteers when it came out of the woods about 200 feet away.
“This is a credible sighting,” park biologist Jeff Conner told the newspaper. “We can’t confirm that it was a wolf, or a wolf hybrid though.”
On December 5 park personnel were taken to Moraine Park, where they found paw prints that were about 4.5 inches wide and 5 inches long.
“They were definitely not a coyote and we could rule out a vast majority of domestic dogs,” Ranger Conner said. “We are confident this was not someone’s dog running loose.”
Earlier this month park officials announced plans to cull elk herds with marksmen and try birth control to blunt growth in the herds. Exactly how many elk are in the park varies throughout the year. While the range of animals in recent years has been pegged at somewhere between 2,200 and 3,100, according to wildlife biologist Therese Johnson, during the past five winters the average count has been between 1,700 and 2,200. The park's objective is to keep the winter population between 1,600 and 2,100.
Interestingly, back in March 2006 there was another possible wolf sighting, also of a black canine, not far from the park. That sighing was made by a Colorado Division of Wildlife officer who managed to videotape the animal near the Wyoming-Colorado border and just to the northwest of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Comments
I have photos of what I think is a wolf in Rocky Mt National Park ?
Who could I send them to, too verify this?
Rusty Givens
Yesterday, May28, 2016, on the McGraw Ranch Road into the Rocky Mountain National Park, I saw a canine in the middle of the afternoon which was way too large to be a coyote. It was 90-110 yards away stopping and moving up a hillside. I was headed into the park and he was on my left side, generally to the west of the road. He was moving left to right and up and then went behind some small trees and brush and howled for about 4-8 seconds. He was almost immediated answered by another howl to the left which seemed about 150 yards at the same level and back to the left. They exchanged howls for about 20-25 seconds. The one I acutually saw then come into the open slowly heading toward the other howl. I saw him two other times between the hillside cover and last saw him moving steadily toward the other animal (which I never saw). The area was grassey so I did not look for footprints.
I am a 72 year old Outdoor Education Instructor at the YMCA of the Rockies. I have hunted all my life in both Texas and Colorado and live on a farm in east Texas. I have seen many coyotes and this animal was way too large to be one. My distance vision is excellent and it was clear daylight. I got my camera out and waited but it did not come into sight again. Its movement seemed related only to the other animal and not in reaction to me. No other cars were on the road during this time.