Colorado Parks and Wildlife is working to identify the hunter or hunters who illegally poached four elk near the communities of Stonewall and Picketwire in Las Animas County, in the mountains west of Trinidad.
The agency reported in a press release that one of the elk was shot and abandoned, another was injured and had to be put down, the third was shot with its back-strap meat removed, and the fourth's head was taken with the rest of the body left.
“These were senseless and disgraceful acts which demonstrates a complete disregard for Colorado wildlife,” said Jim Hawkins, CPW Operation Game Thief Coordinator.
CPW is offering a $1,000 reward for tips that lead to a citation or an arrest. Information can be provided anonymously on CPW’s “Operation Game Thief" website, on their tip line 877-265-6648, or by email.
Anyone who has information on the illegal possession or willful harm of bear, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, or turkey can report it to CPW and, in return, receive preference points or licenses as part of the “Turn In Poachers Program.”
In an apparently separate incident in the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in Mosca in the San Luis Valley, authorities are searching for a 6-foot-tall Caucasian male with brown hair. A social media post from the National Park Service said was seen wearing camouflage, a ball cap and a backpack and was driving a dark colored Ram pickup truck. Officials said the suspect may have also been carrying a compound bow.
The federal agency has asked anyone with information on the suspect to call 719-589-5807 or email [email protected]. Tips to the park service can be anonymous as well.
