DENVER — A female gray wolf, released in Colorado in January after being translocated from British Columbia, has made significant movements across the state, covering more than 1,230 miles since translocation — an extraordinary display of the species’ natural roaming behavior.
“This single wolf’s movement traveled nearly the entire southern line of watersheds on our map,” said CPW Wolf Monitoring and Data Coordinator Brenna Cassidy.
In addition to the southern line of watersheds covered by this one female wolf’s movement, CPW’s latest Monthly Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map shows recent activity in watersheds west of major population centers like Denver, Boulder, and Estes Park that were due to the movement of other collared gray wolves. While these areas saw brief movement on the western fringes of these watersheds, it does not mean that wolves were or are currently in those cities or neighborhoods.
“Wolves can and do travel long distances,” said Cassidy. “It simply shows that a GPS-collared wolf moved through a watershed that encompasses areas of wilderness and the city, often very quickly.”
As wolves continue to explore Colorado, CPW reminds the public that these movements were expected and are a natural part of the reintroduction process. Wolves are habitat generalists, meaning they can thrive in many environments as long as prey is present. Over time, wolves will continue to disperse across the state to establish territories.
What if a Colorado wolf wanders into another state?
CPW has an agreement in place with Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona to ensure wolves that cross into those states can be safely recaptured and returned to Colorado. These protocols are designed to protect the genetic integrity of the federally listed Mexican gray wolf, a separate subspecies.
“Several states have agreed that if a wolf from Colorado enters their jurisdiction, they will capture and return the animal to CPW,” said Cassidy. “That helps protect both Colorado’s reintroduction effort and ongoing recovery efforts for Mexican wolves in the Southwest.”
CPW is committed to transparency and public safety. The agency publishes an updated Monthly Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map, offering a broad view of where wolves are moving based on watershed data. This month’s movement map covering late March – late April was slightly delayed. As noted in prior map releases, CPW reserves the right to buffer maps that will be shared with the public if doing so protects wolf welfare during sensitive times of the year (e.g., mating season), and these rare circumstances may change the appearance or timing of the monthly wolf movement map. Today’s update is available here.
Field staff notify local producers when wolves are known to be in the area and deploy conflict mitigation tools when needed.
“We want to remind everyone that you may not have wolves on your property, but you likely already live among mountain lions and black bears,” said Cassidy. “The same precautions that help prevent conflicts with those animals — like securing attractants and watching pets — are just as effective with wolves.”
Think you’ve seen a wolf?
CPW encourages the public to use the wolf sighting report form on the agency’s website if they believe they have observed a wolf.
Additional resources are available for living and recreating in areas with wolf presence in CPW’s Living with Wolves brochure.
Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Photo: Alpha female wolf of the Canyon pack; Neal Herbert; April 2016;
