The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust are offering $10,000 for information leading to a conviction in two suspected poaching incidents involving a sow bear and a bull elk recently in the Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Wednesday.
Agency officers continue to investigate the two incidents, for which the Humane Society would pay $5,000 each should someone be convicted. In the first, a 5x5 bull elk was found on ranchland off Owl Creek Road on Sept. 24. Officers say the animal had been shot with a .22 caliber rifle or pistol. The injured animal survived for several days before arriving in a meadow on the Owl Creek Ranch property, where it expired.
In Colorado, elk must be taken with a .24 caliber or larger bullet during a rifle season or a .50 caliber or larger bullet during muzzleloader season. However, the only legal hunting method for elk at the time the bull was shot was with archery equipment.
The other incident involved the killing of a female bear that was discovered along the Babbish Gulch Trail near the Sunlight Ski Resort on Sept. 26. Officers determined that the bear died from a gunshot. The bear’s cub, found lingering near the carcass, was successfully captured and released by wildlife officers.
The donation will add to the reward offered by Operation Game Thief (OGT) for tips that lead to a conviction in either case. OGT is Colorado’s wildlife violation hotline and can be reached at 877-265-6648. The amount of an OGT award varies depending on the situation, said Mike Porras, parks and wildlife spokesman.
Neither incident was reported to the agency, and both animal carcasses were illegally abandoned. In Colorado, killing a sow with a cub is also illegal.
“We appreciate the additional money and hope it generates some leads for us,” said Perry Will, area wildlife manager in Glenwood Springs. “We can use all the help we can get to find out what happened in each case and bring the violators to justice.”
He said that the pursuit of poachers is a major part of parks and wildlife’s law enforcement efforts, adding poachers are criminals who steal wildlife from the public and take opportunity away from ethical hunters.
“Even a minor detail may be the information we need to find the people who did this,” Will said. “We also ask that the people responsible in these cases do the right thing and come forward to tell us what happened.”
Anyone who can provide additional details is asked to contact the Glenwood Springs office of Colorado Parks and Wildlife at 970-947-2920. To remain anonymous, they can call OGT. For more information, visitwww.cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/OGT.aspx.