Death of Colorado gray wolf in RMNP reported

A grey wolf died in Rocky Mountain National Park this past week, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Park Service. The exact location of the death was not made public.

The female wolf, identified as 2514-BC, was one of the 15 wolves translocated to Colorado from British Columbia in January.

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The wolf, which wore a satellite GPS collar, is the third wolf from this group to have died. The cause of death has not been released, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating.

According to Travis Duncan, the public information officer for CPW, the average lifespan of a gray wolf in the Rocky Mountains is 3 to 4 years.

Twenty-five wolves have been reintroduced since December 2023 after Colorado voters approved Proposition 114, now Colorado Revised Statutes 33-2-105.8, in 2020. Ten wolves from Oregon were released in Grand and Summit Counties in 2023, followed by 15 from Canada in Eagle and Pitkin Counties.

The goal of the legislation is to release between 30 and 50 wolves over a three- to five-year period to reestablish a self-sustaining wolf population.

“CPW has not seen evidence of gray wolf reproduction yet in 2025,” said Duncan.

Wolves were an important part of the Colorado wildlife ecosystem before being eradicated in the mid-1940s. Considered an apex predator, wolves prey on large animals such as elk, deer, and moose, naturally regulating populations.

In 1967, grey wolves – Canis lupus – were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. At that time, there were fewer than 1,000 grey wolves in the lower 48 states. In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, responsible for determining whether an animal or plant should be protected, classified the gray wolf as endangered in Minnesota and as threatened in the contiguous United States and Mexico.

Following the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in 1995, there were 19 confirmed sightings of lone wolves in Colorado between 2007 and 2021.

Between 2011 and 2020 as wolf populations recovered, the EPS protections were removed but then restored by court order in 2022 with the exception of the Northern Rockies region.

Earlier this month the Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025, co-sponsored by Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany along with 30 other legislators, passed by the House Natural Resources Committee in a 24-17 vote. If enacted, the bill would not only remove gray wolves from the EPS but prevent judicial review of the legislation.

Human-livestock-wolf interface

With the reintroduction of wolves in the Centennial State, the chance to encounter a wolf in the wild is a possibility but with fewer than 30 wolves, sighting one would be a rare opportunity.

“Wolves are shy, calm, elusive and tend to avoid humans, however, wolf sightings or encounters could occur in Rocky Mountain National Park, particularly during elk viewing activities or where elk are present,” says Kyle Patterson, public information officer for RMNP.

Patterson cautions that Park visitors should always keep a safe distance when viewing any wildlife, “Whether someone is in their vehicle or on foot, the park recommends maintaining a distance of at least 300 feet or 91 meters from wolves.”

If a visitor encounters a wolf in the Park, Patterson advises that common sense rules should be followed.

• Give wolves space for your safety and theirs. If you see a wolf, do not approach it.
• If a wolf approaches you, do not run. Stop, stand tall, wave your arms, yell, and flare your jacket. If it continues, throw something at it or use bear pepper spray. Group up with other people, and continue waving and yelling.
• Never feed a wolf or any other wildlife. Feeding wolves can cause them to become habituated and lead to aggressive behavior towards humans. Proper food storage is required in RMNP’s front country campgrounds and backcountry wilderness campsites.
• Keep children near you while hiking. Never leave small children unattended.

Information from Travis Duncan of CPW echoes Patterson’s guidance. While Aggressive behavior from wild wolves toward humans is rare, where it has occurred, it is generally in areas where wolves have become habituated to humans.

“Keep outdoor food sources secured to avoid attracting wildlife such as deer to your yard. Wolves follow prey species so attracting deer may attract wolves as well,” says Duncan.

According to the CPW website, “Generally, wolves are calm and elusive and avoid humans and are unlikely to approach people or homes…If you live or recreate in the foothills or mountains of Colorado, you are in wolf country. Wolves are not normally a danger to humans, but you should treat wolves with the same respect you give any other wild animal.” 

Controversy over the reintroduction of wolves has centered primarily around the concerns of ranchers who see wolves as a threat to their livestock and conservation and animal rights groups that believe the grey wolf should be protected from hunting.

Since 2024 there have been some three dozen reports of livestock depredations including 25 cows, nine sheep, one dog, and one llama. To date, not all of the claims listed on the website have been confirmed by the agency.

When a depredation claim is confirmed by CPW, livestock owners can be reimbursed the fair market value of the animal up to $15,000 through the Gray Wolf Compensation and Conflict Minimization Program. Livestock owners can also be reimbursed for veterinarian costs for the treatment of injured livestock or a guard or herding animals up to $15,000.

Although Colorado law exempts CPW from the state’s open records act regarding the disclosure of specific animal location data, the organization provides a map that tracks the activity of collared grey wolves over the previous month.