Colorado Parks and Wildlife has announced the formation of three new wolf packs across the state in addition to the existing Copper Creek pack that formed last year.
“Today’s presentation reinforces how far wolf restoration efforts have come since planning started in 2021. Beyond providing an update on conflict minimization efforts and future translocation efforts, CPW announced the formation of three additional packs in the state of Colorado. Successful pack formation is vital to CPW’s wolf restoration plan not just in terms of reproduction, but also the development of territories. Localization of pack movement patterns will allow CPW to work more effectively with producers on notifications and conflict minimization strategies.” – Jeff Davis, Director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The three new packs include the One Ear Pack in Jackson County, the King Mountain Pack in Routt County, and the Three Creeks Pack in Rio Blanco County. In order for a pack to be recognized, a breeding pair pair of wolves has to have reproduced in late springs.
CPW has seen pups at some of the dens but there is not a confirmed pup count for all of the packs. The detection of pups in late spring or early summer is difficult and inherently low due to their small size and use of habitats in dense cover or underground.
“We are continuing to monitor four dens in Colorado and will include minimum counts of the entire wolf population in our annual biological year reports. Receiving reports of wolf sightiColorado ngs from the public – especially with high quality photos or video – is extremely helpful to CPW as we monitor and track the movement of gray wolves. This will become increasingly important as the population of uncollared wolves grows through successful restoration and natural immigration into Colorado.” – Eric Odell, CPW’s Wolf Conservation Program Manager
