A fourth gray wolf from the group translocated from British Columbia in January has died in northwestern Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it received a mortality alert Thursday morning for a female known as 2512-BC. The agency said it would release no more information about the death until a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service necropsy is complete.
There were 15 animals released in Pitkin and Eagle counties in January, eight were female and seven were male. Another female died April 20 in Rocky Mountain National Park. Two males were killed in Wyoming, one of which was shot by game officials after it was determined the animal was preying on livestock in the north-central part of the state.
In the latest update to the state’s wolf reintroduction plan, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said mortalities are expected and that is why the plan requires the agency to release 10 to 15 wolves a year for up to five years as it works to establish a stable population. Biologists are watching as many as four potential dens for pups this spring.Colorado voters in 2020 narrowly approved reintroduction of wolves west of the Continental Divide. The first group of 10, captured in Oregon, was released in Summit and Grand counties in December 2023.
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