Could Colorado see more wolf pups this spring? Parks and Wildlife provides an update on state’s growing population
The payments cover livestock killed by wolves and indirect impacts caused by the predator’s presence on ranches
Colorado Parks and Wildlife/Courtesy Photo
Earlier this year, Colorado’s wolf population nearly tripled with the release of 15 animals from British Columbia and five members of the Copper Creek pack from captivity. Now, almost two months later, Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff are looking to the future.
An update to the Parks and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday, March 5, provided new information on whether the agency will bring more wolves from the Canadian province, whether it expects pups this year, how wolf movements are changing and what wildlife officials are doing to reduce conflict between the predators and livestock.
New details on British Columbia wolves — and whether more could come in the future
The latest capture and release operations for Colorado wolves took place over five days in January.
Eric Odell, the manager of Parks and Wildlife’s wolf conservation program, shared behind-the-scenes details on how the wolves were located, captured, evaluated, monitored, transported and ultimately released in Colorado. He delved into the tools used by both the B.C. Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship and Parks and Wildlife in the months leading to the operation and during the days on the ground.
Odell reported that the final cost for Colorado has not been calculated, it won’t exceed $300,000 per the agency’s contract with the Canadian agency. It’s expected to be closer to $250,000, not including Parks and Wildlife staff time, he added.
As Colorado looks for future sources of wolves, the success of the operation makes it possible that Parks and Wildlife could get more wolves from the province.
“They got a lot of positive press out of having been involved in this. They’ve extended the offer back to us,” he said.
While there are general concerns in reintroduction that getting too many wolves from one place could lead to a lack of genetic diversity, British Columbia’s population is large enough that this could be avoided.
“There’s so much turnover in that system in British Columbia, so much turnover of wolves and the wolf population that there is not a concern,” Odell said. “There’s a lot of reasons to really consider B.C. as a source in future years.”
Ultimately, 15 wolves made the trip from British Columbia to Colorado. They were released in two sites in Eagle and Pitkin counties — one site north of Interstate 70 and one south of the interstate.
Of the 15, six were yearlings, seven were 3 to 4 years old, and two were 4 to 5 years old, according to Odell. Eight were females, averaging around 80 pounds, and seven were males, averaging around 112 pounds. He commented that the weights come with the caveat that a recent meal can add 10 to 15 pounds to the animal.
During their first month in the state, he reported a variety of behaviors from the wolves.
“One wolf moved over 400 miles,” he said. “Some animals have covered some distance, but they haven’t expanded very far from that release area. Those animals moved a total of 50 to 60 miles in that same timeframe.”
In the last month, while there are a few outliers — including two animals that have made it to Mesa County in the west and one to the southeast — Odell reported that wolf activity has remained concentrated in the areas around Grand, Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties.
“These animals are very, very unpredictable in some of these movements right now because they are still seeking out their own territories,” he said.
As the wolves move, Travis Black, Parks and Wildlife’s northwest regional wildlife manager, shared that staff on the ground has “tried to improve upon that communication with producers as these wolves are moving through the landscape.”
Does more wolves mean more pups?
These new wolves represented a big change in Colorado’s overall wolf population — a growth that could continue this spring.
“We’ve gone from literally a handful, a couple of handfuls of animals to now 29 animals, 30 animals, and we’re heading into the breeding season,” Odell said. “The breeding season is mid-February. There are certainly animals that we can tell are moving around in pairs. We certainly expect there to be some reproduction, some recruitment this year.”
The agency is unaware of any dens being established to date.
“The females will be active outside of a den right up until denning time,” Odell said. “So it won’t be until mid-April that we’ll have any kind of insight as to what that looks like.”
Colorado’s first pack during the reintroduction was established last spring between two of the wolves from Oregon. Ultimately, the pair had five pups.
Shortly after denning season, the Copper Creek pack was connected to repeated livestock deaths in Grand County. The two adults and four of the pups were ultimately captured and relocated to a sanctuary.
The pack’s male wolf, which the agency has stated was known to have killed livestock, died a few days after its capture from injuries sustained from a gunshot wound. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is leading the investigation into the death and will not release any information until it has concluded, according to Parks and Wildlife.
In addition to new pups, Parks and Wildlife has confirmed new wolves entering the state since the start of the year. One was confirmed to be exploring Moffat County. The agency also reported that another uncollared wolf was responsible for the death of a cow in Jackson County on Feb. 5.
Efforts to reduce conflict continue
Since reintroduction started in December 2023, Parks and Wildlife has been working to reduce conflict between the growing number of wolves and producers. Two of these efforts have included conducting free site assessments — both as preventative and reactive measures — with ranchers impacted by wolves as well as developing a statewide range riding program.
On Wednesday, Odell shared that the agency has received 158 requests for site assessments and has completed 129. The goal of these assessments is to identify vulnerabilities at a ranch and provide producers with individualized recommendations and opportunities to reduce wolf conflict.
“We’re certainly focusing the priority of those in areas where we have wolf presence and where we anticipate that there might be some denning,” he said of the assessments. “We are trying to be proactive, trying to get ahead of these as we can… If we don’t, if there is conflict that arises, we can certainly do these retroactively and get involved and try to work quickly and intentionally to try to minimize further conflict.”
Parks and Wildlife with the Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working to hire range riders that will be deployed across the regions impacted by wolves. So far, the state has hired nine of 12 riders and is “working to distribute them around the counties where the high priorities are,” Odell said.
