Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are working to confirm two reported sightings of a gray wolf in Colorado. Getty.
It’s been 80 years since the last wolf was hunted and killed in Colorado… Gray wolves used to be widespread across much of the country, Colorado included. The U.S. Snow on the ground and on the trees. Colorado at a glance. Colorado producers and sportsman may be stomping on the brake pedal on wolf reintroduction, but state officials say the reality is, Colorado already has wolves. T he gray wolf, once numbering in the tens of thousands throughout North America, have faced public vilification and extermination programs that drove it to near extinction in the US. CPW has a wolf management plan in place and is prepared to effectively manage the already occurring natural colonization of wolves to Colorado. Wolf pack standing in the woods a cold winter day.
According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the last gray wolves were eradicated from Colorado around 1940. Prior to that, wolves thrived in the Centennial State thanks to a number of big game species that were readily available for them to prey on such as bison, elk, and deer, along with a number of small game species like rabbits and rodents.
As of 2020, wolves appear to be slowly establishing a population in Colorado – or at least some wolves are showing up in the state. Fish and Wildlife Service has restored gray wolves into Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Arizona, and it is believed wolves have begun to migrate into Colorado from both the north and south. MOFFAT COUNTY, Colo. — A pack of wolves has been seen in Moffat County, likely the same pack spotted in the area in January, according to an update Tuesday from Colorado … Gray wolves once existed throughout Colorado; however, extirpation or removal began shortly after European settlement. Fortunately, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is already on record in opposition to a forced reintroduction.