First wolf pup born from reintroduced wolves confirmed in Colorado
Eric Odell/Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado in December have successfully reproduced, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Parks and Wildlife confirmed one wolf pup in Grand County on Tuesday, June 18, during routine wolf monitoring efforts, according to a news release.
While just one pup was confirmed, Parks and Wildlife said there may be more as a typical wolf litter consists of four to six pups.
“We are continuing to actively monitor this area while exercising extreme caution to avoid inadvertently disturbing the adult wolves, this pup or other pups,” said Wildlife Biologist Brenna Cassidy.
There are no photos or videos at this time.
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Officials will continue to monitor the animals to determine how many pups have been born.
Biologists have seen GPS collar evidence that led them to believe a gray wolf pair was denning earlier this year. The female’s GPS points stopped uploading in early April and resumed uploading later in the month. Her GPS points showed her activity in a very localized area, which Parks and Wildlife biologists interpreted as her likely being in a den. That coincided with the expected timing of wolf reproduction.
The family of wolves can now be considered a pack, dubbed the Copper Creek Pack.
While this is the first confirmed Colorado-born wolf pup since voter-approved wolf reintroduction, a litter of pups were born to wolves that migrated to the state in 2021. Since reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties, Parks and Wildlife has released monthly maps showing wolf activity but the exact GPS points are not released. Instead, the map watersheds that the wolves have traveled through. The next map will be released Wednesday, June 26.
