Colorado starts operation to capture Canadian wolves | News [Video]

Wildlife officers have begun the operation to capture gray wolves in British Columbia, Canada, and bring the apex predators to Colorado, where they will be released in a region at the center of a fight over the state’s reintroduction campaign. 

Colorado’s wildlife commission this week denied a petition to delay the next round of wolf introductions, paving the way for the capture operations to proceed. The state said the wolves will be released on the Western Slope — in Garfield, Eagle or Pitkin counties.

Colorado’s agreement with the Canadian province allows the capture of up to 15 wolves and to relocate them to the American state, according to the Polis administration. British Columbia has between 5,300 and 11,600 wolves, officials estimate. 

The operation is expected to last up to two weeks, officials said. 

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program has strained the relationship between the state and livestock growers, who, along with …