Colorado’s wolf reintroduction effort just hit a bit of a snag. This week, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that it would be capturing and relocating wolves from the Copper Creek wolf pack due to repeated livestock depredation.

“The decision to capture and relocate the Copper Creek pack was made with the careful consideration of multiple factors and feedback from many different stakeholders,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “Our options in this unique case were very limited, and this action is by no means a precedent for how CPW will resolve wolf-livestock conflict moving forward.”

“The ultimate goal of the operation is to relocate the pack to another location,” he continued, “while we assess our best options for them to continue to contribute to the successful restoration of wolves in Colorado.”

CPW will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete the capture and relocation. The announcement comes just days after footage of wolf pups playing in an undisclosed location circulated on social media. The Copper Creek pack are part of at least a dozen known wolves roaming Colorado’s mountains. Eight other adults were released in December, though this is the only pack with confirmed wolf pups. One of the relocated wolves was found dead this spring, according to The Denver Post.

CPW will not be releasing the location of the pack members or operation.

Stay tuned to GOHUNT for further updates.