Center for Biological Diversity Announces Confirmation of Pup for Newly Released Colorado Wolves

Gray wolf (Canis lupus). Photo by Gary Kramer, USFWS.

Puppy Confirmed for Newly Released Colorado Wolves

June 23, 2024 – GRAND COUNTY, Colorado – Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed the existence of a wolf pup from a pair of wolves newly reintroduced to Colorado. This new family of wolves, officially declared a pack, was named Copper Creek Pack.

“It’s so exciting to witness the first days of the wolves’ return to Colorado, and my heart leapt with joy when I heard about the new Cub Scout,” said Alli Henderson, southern Rockies director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “With wolf families having been extinct in Colorado for nearly a century, the arrival of this pup is an important conservation milestone. Wolves belong here and I’m so happy they’re back.

In recent months, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said GPS collar tracking data from recently released wolves indicated the birth of a male and female gray wolf. The agency has been able to confirm the presence of one cub so far, through routine wolf monitoring efforts, but other cubs may be present, as wolf litters are typically made up of four to six cubs .

This pup is the first in Colorado since the North Park pack was formed in spring 2021 by two wolves who dispersed from Wyoming and later gave birth to a litter of pups in Jackson County. Several wolves from the North Park pack were legally killed when they crossed the border into Wyoming, and only two members, both males, are still alive.

Before the North Park Pack’s litter, it had been nearly a century since Colorado had any reports of feral puppies born in the state.

To protect the new family, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has not released information on which of the released wolves are now parents or where they are giving birth. Of the 10 wolves released in Colorado, six are breeding-age females from various packs in Oregon.

According to media reports, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the new puppy’s father may have attacked livestock. The agency and the Colorado Department of Agriculture provide technical help and other resources to area ranchers to avoid conflict with the growing wolf family.

“With good husbandry and common-sense measures like guard dogs, livestock operations can coexist with wolves,” Henderson said. “The Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Parks and Wildlife provide subsidized and free resources to deploy these measures to prevent and respond to conflicts with wolves. Pastoralists should take full advantage of this assistance to prevent and mitigate conflicts.

Two complaints Claims were filed for livestock injured or killed earlier this year in Grand and Jackson counties by reintroduced wolves. Breeders have 90 days to submit such a claim.

In late April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said one of 10 newly reintroduced wolves had died in Larimer County. Based on the autopsy, it was determined that the death was caused by a mountain lion. The remaining nine wolves are believed to be alive, although at least one of them has a faulty GPS collar. Movements reintroduced wolves have been confirmed east of the Continental Divide and on the Front Range.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild spaces.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity