JACKSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Two mornings before Christmas day, a pair of cattle ranchers were confronted with a sight not seen in Colorado in over 70 years.
The scene they discovered was the aftermath of the slaughter of one of their Angus calves, which Colorado Parks and Wildlife would later confirm was the result of gray wolf predation. Fast forward two months later, and those same ranchers have fallen victim to two more incidents of wolf depredation.
“It’s one of those things where you wish you weren’t in that situation,” Don Gittleson said. “That’s what you wish.”
Now, CPW has stepped up to help him and his partner, Kim Gittleson, limit any future occurrences like this on their property, and they’re doing it through the gifting of six burros.
On Thursday, CPW delivered the drove of tiny donkeys, which included two gelded jacks and four jennies, to the Gittlesons’ property in an effort to minimize any further interactions with wolves on their property.
“The idea is to make the burros become a part of the cattle herd to where they will start to protect or consider the cattle as a member of its family,” said Zach Weaver, a CPW Wildlife officer in Walden.
Weaver sprung into action following the two back-to-back wolf depredation incidents in January by beginning his search for burros that were already acclimated to higher altitudes. He located candidates, ranging in age from 5 to 11, that fit the bill and went to Utah on Feb. 27 to pick them up from the Axtell Wild Horse and Burro Facility.
“Don [Gittleson] and I wanted animals that had been at a higher elevation so they were acclimated and had developed hair for the cold,” said Weaver. “You’re talking 5,000 feet there as opposed to 8,000 at our lowest.”
According to CPW, there is evidence that the presence of burros among cattle herds can lead to wolves taking a second thought before hunting the livestock.
“We learned that wild burros are more effective because they’ve been in the wild where they’ve had to defend themselves and their herd from predation from animals like mountain lions and coyotes,” said Weaver, highlighting the efforts from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service who performed a similar experiment up in Oregon.
It is not a service that CPW will offer to every victim of wolf depredation incidents, but since the Gittlesons have been fallen prey to this type of predation three times since late December, CPW seems willing to help them address this issue while at the same time studying the case going forward to gauge the effectiveness of burro-having herds.
“He has put the burros out with a small group of calves on his ranch. They’re still in a corral with access to heat, but he’s beginning to acclimate them,” said Weaver.
The latest wolf kill, or depredation, occurred on Thursday when CPW confirmed that a bred cow in North Park was put down after being mutilated by a migrating pack. Nearby and within the same week, six elk were discovered with similar wounds, but CPW has yet to confirm this as a wolf kill.
Wolf kills and wolf depredations continue to grow as a point of contention between animal conservators and cattle ranchers following the passing of Proposition 114, which requires CPW to restore and manage gray wolves in Colorado by the end of 2023.
