Reintroduced Colorado gray wolf dies in Rocky Mountain National Park
A collared gray wolf released in Colorado in January as part of the state's historic reintroduction effort died in Rocky Mountain National Park last week, wildlife officials said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists received a "mortality alert" from the female wolf's collar on April 20 and later confirmed the wolf died in the park, the agency said in a news release Thursday.
State officials did not say how the wolf died, but said the death will be investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because gray wolves are protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The wolf, identified as 2514-BC, was one of 15 gray wolves captured in British Columbia and released in Eagle and Pitkin counties in January, the second release since voters approved reintroduction in 2020.
Wolf survival in Colorado is normal for the Rocky Mountain region, state officials said Thursday, and deaths are factored into the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.
The average lifespan of a gray wolf in the Rockies is three to four years, according to Parks and Wildlife.
This is at least the sixth death among the reintroduced wolves. The deaths have been linked to natural causes as well as intentional killings, including by federal officials in Wyoming in March after a collared Colorado gray wolf killed sheep.
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