Colorado wildlife authorities have released wolves, captured in Oregon, onto the Western Slope. Critics anticipate escalated attacks on elk, prized wildlife, livestock, pets, and humans.

Urban Front Range voters forced the state to reintroduce wolves no later than Dec. 31. Wolves don’t acknowledge state borders. As such, they naturally migrate to Colorado from other states and Yellowstone National Park.

Those who doubt the natural presence of wolves in Colorado should talk to northwest rancher Don Gittleson, who lost a 600-pound Angus and two heifers to a state-confirmed wolf attack on his ranch last year.

In March, as reported by the Fort Collins Coloradoan, wolves killed a working cattle dog and fatally injured a pet dog at different ranches four miles apart in northwest Colorado.

Just last month, wolves killed three 100-pound sheep belonging to North Park rancher Brian Anderson.

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All Colorado wolf attacks in the 21st century have occurred with a minuscule wolf population. One can safely predict that wolves + more wolves = more attacks.

To understand the normalization of wolf attacks on humans and their property, look to Russia and Western Europe – where wolf attacks are relatively common after years of artificial reintroduction programs. Examples:

? A lone wolf attacked three children while they swam near a Russian forest. The attack left a seven-year-old in critical condition. The wolf killed a nine-year-old and dragged him into the forest, where a search team found him partially eaten an hour later.

? On Thursday, a wolf attacked a man and killed his dog as they took a routine walk near a German forest. The man is fighting for his life in an intensive care unit.

? In July, a wolf killed a sheep and goat before attacking a Netherlands farmer, hospitalizing him with permanent injuries.

? In February, a wolf attacked a woman and her dog as they walked in an Italian village. The attack left the woman hospitalized with multiple injuries. The dog, presumed dead, has not been seen since the attack.

? In February, three wolves spotted 24-year-old German physiotherapist Marie Schmidt as she rode her e-bike on a cycle path along a busy highway. The wolves chased Schmidt as she screamed and cried for help while riding through a village. She barely reached safety, thanks only to the electric motor on her bike.

The list goes on, proving that random, ill-conceived wolf reintroduction programs are bad for humans, pets, desirable wildlife, livestock, and wolves that are typically killed after they attack.

The Western Slope is no longer a barren landscape. It is home to world-renowned resort towns and quaint rural villages that are growing quickly with urban coastal transplants. State demographers estimate the Western Slope’s human population will grow by at least two-thirds before 2050. That’s one reason most states and Indian tribes refused to help with Colorado’s reintroduction plan, saying it would harm humans and wolves alike.

No rational human wants the extinction of wolves (no longer genuinely endangered) or any other creatures. To ensure the peaceful co-existence of humans and predatory wildlife, we should upgrade and expand zoos and wildlife refuges established to save wild predators and minimize conflicts.

As the state haphazardly fulfills the feckless demands of Front Range voters, let’s hope the critics are wrong. If they are right, we’ll see trouble for humans, pets, big game, livestock, and wolves that are killed when things go wrong. If this unwise reintroduction plan kills a single child, urban voters will have blood on their hands.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board