Colorado’s eight collared wolves in the wild spread out in the northern and northwestern parts of the state in December, according to a monthly tracking map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
At least one wolf crossed back into a watershed that includes Larimer County for the first time since October, according to the map, which shows where wolves traveled between Nov. 26 and Dec. 22. The wolves’ territory also included parts of Lake, Summit, Grand, Eagle, Jackson, Routt, Moffatt, Rio Blanco and Garfield counties.
The wolf or wolves that crossed Interstate 70 for the first time in November remained in the mountains around Leadville, south of the interstate.
The map also shows that the wolf or wolves that had been living in Garfield County near Rifle and Glenwood Springs last month moved out of that area.
The new map comes as Colorado wildlife officials prepare to release up to 15 more wolves as part of the state’s reintroduction program. The wolves will be captured in British Columbia in Canada and released in Garfield, Eagle or Pitkin counties.
Wildlife officials also plan to release a female wolf and her four pups that they removed from the wild after a series of livestock depredations. Biologists failed to capture a fifth pup that was part of the same pack. It remained in the wild without a collar after the rest of its pack was captured.
The state’s known wolf population stands at 14: seven survivors among the 10 adults reintroduced by the state in December 2024, five pups produced by two of the reintroduced wolves, and two adults from a pack established earlier by wolves that migrated from Wyoming.
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