Colorado's reintroduction of gray wolves

Within months a wolf killed a calf, the first confirmed livestock kill by the released animals,^[4] and more cattle deaths followed in Grand and Jackson counties.^[13][14] The wolves bred in their first spring,^[3] but in August 2024 officials captured and relocated the Copper Creek pack after repeated attacks on livestock.^[15][16] More wolves were released in January 2025 from British Columbia;^[17] several died, one illegally shot and others killed after crossing into Wyoming.^[18][19] Colorado lawmakers proposed pausing reintroduction to save money.^[20]

In 2026 the state turned to lethal removal of wolves blamed for chronic attacks on livestock, killing a wolf in Routt County in June and a male of the One Ear pack in August,^[21][5] and two more in September.^[22] A licensed hunter killed a female wolf after mistaking it for a coyote, officials said.^[23] In September Trump ordered the federal government to consider delisting gray wolves,^[7] and at the end of the month Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it was stepping back from its approach to killing wolves involved in livestock attacks.^[24] A new pack, the Piney Ridge Pack, formed in Eagle County.^[25] In November, the Interior Department began a 15-day review of Colorado's agreements with the US Fish and Wildlife Service,^[8] and state officials said they were monitoring a possible skin parasite in two packs.^[26]