Wolves have been running all over northwestern Colorado, including some that just arrived from Canada, some that were brought in from Oregon in 2023, and possibly another wolf of unknown origin.
Some locals in Moffat County, Colorado, think the mystery wolf might have wandered in from Wyoming.
“This is evidently one of your wolves from Wyoming,” Rod Owens told Cowboy State Daily.
After all, wolves from Wyoming have showed up there before, said Owens, an elk hunting outfitter.
Earlier this month a rural Moffat County resident got video of a large canine wearing what appeared to be an orange collar.
There was some speculation that the orange collar indicated that it had come from Wyoming.
However, Wyoming Game and Fish Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily that to his knowledge, Game and Fish doesn’t color code the tracking collars it puts on wolves.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) stated that couldn’t confirm any reports of the animal, where it came from, or if it even was a wolf.
“Again, it is possible, but we have not been able to confirm for sure if this is a collared wolf from somewhere else, or a wandering domestic dog wearing a dog collar,” according to CPW.
Colorado’s Official Wolf Count Now 29
Colorado’s wolf story stretches back a few years and is complicated.
Wolves have crossed the state line from Wyoming into Colorado a few times. In 2019-2020, a male and female wolf that came from Wyoming at different times met up, mated and formed the North Park pack.
That pack was blamed for killing cattle and dogs in Jackson County, Colorado. It was eventually all but wiped out, apparently because most its members wandered back into southern Wyoming, where it’s legal to shoot wolves on sight, and were killed.
But even while the North Park pack was still intact, Colorado decided to begin reintroducing wolves.
Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program was initiated by Proposition 114, which Colorado voters passed in 2020 by the slimmest of margins, 50.91% to 49.09%.
In December 2023, 10 wolves captured in Oregon were transported to Colorado and released in Grand County.
Seven of those are still alive.
A pair of those wolves mated and founded the Copper Creek pack with their pups. But that pack quicky found itself in trouble for killing cattle. Most of that pack – two adults and four juvenile pups – was captured and placed in captivity.
A fifth pup evaded capture.
The male wolf died in captivity, of previous injuries that CPW stated were unrelated to his capture.
The female and the four pups were released back into the wild, but the mother wolf died, likely after a fight with another wolf.
Another of the adults from the original 10 released wolves from Oregon was previously killed by a mountain lion, according to CPW.
Last month, 15 more wolves were brought in from British Columbia, Canada and released in Pitkin and Eagle counties.
So, Colorado’s official wolf count is up to 29.
That includes the five Copper Creek pups born in Colorado and the seven surviving wolves from Oregon. Plus, the 15 newly-arrived wolves from British Columbia, and the last two survivors from the North Park pack.
‘Nobody Knows What The Future Holds’
Owens and his wife, Rebecca, along with other rural Colorado residents, are convinced that the wolf population is up to 30, including the mysterious wandering canine with the orange collar.
And as of late, Moffat County, with the Wyoming state as its northern border, has been wolf central, they said.
Rod said he’s found huge tracks in the snow near his hunting camp, apparently belonging to one of the females from Oregon.
Some of the wolves from British Columbia have also made their way into Moffat County, he said.
“One of them was just above our hunting camp, as of Saturday,” he said.
Rebecca works at a local power sports dealership. She said that her customers – who include ranchers, hunters and trappers – are nervous about what might happen with the wolves.
They’re worried about the effects on livestock and game herds, as well as motorized recreation areas being shut down, she said.
“Nobody knows what the future holds for sure,” she said.
Rod said that the last time wolves showed up in Moffat County from Colorado, they quickly went back over the state line and were shot.
“You guys have got it figured out on your side of the fence,” he said.
“I know Wyoming’s gone through 20 or 30 years of misery to get where you are with wolf management. We don’t have that kind of time in Colorado,” he added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
