Colorado might double its wolf population this year with the announcement of at least six new pups born to one pack and the state being home to four packs that produced pups this spring.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated in a July 30 news release at least six pups were born to the One Ear Pack in western Jackson County. The agency previously stated an unknown number of pups were born to the Copper Creek pack in Pitkin County, King Mountain pack in Routt County and Three Creeks pack in Rio Blanco County.
"We know that there are at least six pups in the One Ear Pack, but there is a possibility that there were additional pups we did not see," Eric Odell, the state wildlife agency's wolf conservation program manager, stated in a news release. "However, detection of pups early on is inherently low due to a number of factors including their size, use of densely covered homesites, and time potentially underground."
Female gray wolves generally give birth to an average litter of four to six pups. If the state's four packs each produce five pups this spring, it will add 20 more wolves to the state population of 22 collared wolves.
Those collared wolves include seven of the 10 wolves captured in Oregon still living, 10 of the 15 wolves captured in British Columbia still living, three yearlings from the Copper Creek pack and two surviving members of the former North Park pack.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife acknowledges an unknown number of uncollared wolves also reside in the state. That includes one of the Copper Creek pups that evaded capture last fall when the state wildlife agency captured the pack after repeated depredations and held them at a sanctuary until rereleasing them in Pitkin County in January.
The decision to rerelease the pack by agency Director Jeff Davis went against the state's wolf recovery plan that inferred known depredating wolves should not be translocated to other areas of the state.
Colorado's wolf pups showing strong survivability
Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated wolf pup survival in the wild varies widely by location and is difficult to get an accurate count, but rough estimates place survival rates for the first year at between 50% and 60%.
Colorado's wolf pups have fared much better, with possibly all 12 pups born in Colorado previous to this year surviving past their first year.
All five of the Copper Creek pack pups born in April of 2024 survived past their first year. The only known death from that pack is a male yearling Colorado Parks and Wildlife lethally removed May 29 in Pitkin County under its chronic depredation definition of three depredations in 30 days.
The state wildlife agency has since July 20 been attempting to kill another member of the Copper Creek pack, presumably another yearling, after a confirmed depredation July 18 in Pitkin County.
At least four pups and possibly all six of the North Park pack pups born in April of 2021 survived more than a year. Three or four of those animals were legally killed in Wyoming in the fall of 2022 and one of those pups is now part of the One Ear Pack, along with his father.
The fate and how long the other one or two pups from the North Park pack lived is unknown.
According to ranchers familiar with the One Ear pack, that pack consists of the two remaining members of the North Park pack, both males, and two females released from Oregon plus at least six pups
The One Ear name given to the pack by the state wildlife agency is because of its proximity to Rabbit Ears Pass in western Jackson County.
The state wildlife agency stated intentional disruption of any pack is considered harassment and perpetrators will be subject to fines. The agency added the state's wolfpacks may be residing on privately owned lands and accessing private lands without permission is considered trespassing and subject to punishment.
How many wolves is Colorado looking to have?
The state's wolf recovery plan calls for a minimum self-sustaining population of 150 to 200 wolves.
The plan is for the release of 10 to 15 wolves per year for three to five years. There have been two previous releases totaling 25 wolves, of which 17 are still alive.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated previously it is looking at returning to British Columbia to capture wolves and release them in the state this winter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: New wolf pups could nearly double Colorado's population in one year
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