Colorado’s July wolf activity map includes update on hazing rumors, wolf pups
Monthly update shows less activity in Grand, Routt, Eagle and Larimer counties in the past 30 days
Colorado’s collared wolves largely remained in Routt, Grand, Summit and Jackson counties and somewhat withdrew from some areas like Eagle County over the past month, according to a map released Wednesday by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The map on the agency’s website uses Colorado watershed boundaries to indicate where wolves have been detected and reflect movements from June 25 through July 23. It is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month. State officials have released the maps monthly since January after reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December.
In its update Wednesday, Parks and Wildlife also addressed social media rumors claiming the agency’s tracking planes are intentionally flying low to drive the wolves away from the Wyoming border. The agency said this is untrue while clarifying its staff uses the aircraft only to track the wolves.
State officials recently confirmed a wolf pup was born in Grand County. The family of wolves can now be considered a pack, dubbed the Copper Creek Pack. Wildlife officials continue to search for evidence of other pups but haven’t confirmed more than one so far.
The wolves that were released in December, which were transported to the state from Oregon, have tracking collars that record their position once every four hours. Two of those collars are no longer functioning, but those wolves are traveling with other collared wolves, according to Parks and Wildlife. One of those wolves was killed by a mountain lion in April in Larimer County.
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The map only shows what watershed boundaries wolves have entered, not exact locations. Even though the map includes watersheds that cross below I-70, the wolves haven’t traveled below the interstate, according to Parks and Wildlife.
Since the start of reintroduction, there have been 13 confirmed cases of wolves attacking livestock in the state, also known as depredation. Only one of the depredation cases has resulted in a payout from the state so far.
