Jan 4, 2008 1:08 pm US/Mountain
Cameras Look For Wolf In Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP/CBS4) ―
The Denver Zoo has moved some cameras it already had in Rocky Mountain National Park to try to confirm the sighting of a wolf.
Park volunteers reported seeing a wolf on Dec. 4 in the Moraine Park area but the sighting hasn't been confirmed. Large paw prints typical of a wolf also have been reportedly found.
Park spokesman Larry Frederick says if there is a wolf in the park, it would have to be protected as a member of a federally designated endangered species.
Environmentalists and wildlife officials have said wolves from nearby states would likely cross into Colorado eventually.
In the 1990s, gray wolves from Canada were released in Yellowstone and central Idaho, and Mexican wolves were released in Arizona in federal efforts to restore them to parts of their native range.
Wolves have flourished in the Yellowstone area (in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho). Recovery has been less successful in Arizona and New Mexico.
The Denver Zoo researchers have cameras throughout the park as part of a study on carnivores. Some of the cameras were moved to Moraine Park in hopes of catching a wolf on film.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
