Bystander Reported a Wolf Pack. The Reality Was 'More Hilarious'

Park County Sheriff's Office says 'pack' was actually a bunch of escaped Saint Bernards
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 29, 2022 9:40 AM CDT
Updated May 1, 2022 4:40 PM CDT

People tend to see what they want to see. For one particular person along a Colorado roadway, what they apparently wanted to see was a pack of wolves, but what they actually spotted in the wild was something else entirely. A video emerged earlier this week titled "Pack of wolves in Park County," showing a snowy landscape near US Highway 285 and County Road 5 dotted with a herd of elk. In back of those creatures, in the distance, the group of supposed wolves can be seen sprinting, a sighting that was sent along to Colorado Parks and Wildlife as well as the Park County Sheriff's Office.

The latter has since revealed what KUSA calls the "significantly less terrifying and arguably more hilarious" reality behind those mystery animals. "It is believed that the sighting was actually a group of large-breed [Saint] Bernard dogs that live in the area and have a documented history of escaping their enclosure," the sheriff's office announced in a statement. Officials say the dogs' owner confessed five of her 10 dogs had escaped again on Monday, which is when the video was shot. CPW also flew a plane over the area and confirmed there were no dead elk found, nor evidence of wolves.

KDVR notes the dogs' owner had been cited on April 23 by Park County Animal Control for a similar breakout and was fined $200. Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw says the dogs make their repeat getaways by digging under the fence that's supposed to keep them in their yard, per KUSA. He adds that he told the owner he won't fine her again for Monday's incident, but that if it happens again, she should be prepared to open her wallet. That's not to say it's out of the realm of possibility to see wolves in the Centennial State: KDVR notes multiple cows have been killed by wolves in Jackson County, and that a dog was killed by wolves there, near Walden, earlier this year. (More wolves stories.)

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