A gray wolf connected to the deaths of five lambs and a ewe on Colorado’s Western Slope this summer likely was killed by state wildlife officials in August, although its body has not been found.
The uncollared wolf was the lone member of the Copper Creek pack that was not captured and relocated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials in late 2024, the agency said in a released Friday.
Parks and Wildlife began investigating after the first lamb was killed near Meeker on July 20, a few days after the agency received photos confirming an uncollared gray wolf was in the area, state officials wrote.
Another lamb was killed July 22, followed by a ewe on Aug. 2, and one lamb was killed and three others injured in an Aug. 16 attack, according to Parks and Wildlife. One of the lambs injured in the Aug. 16 attack was euthanized, and a second later died from its injuries.
All of the killings happened within 7 miles across two grazing allotments, and range riders and shepherds reported hearing wolf cries in the area on several occasions.
Parks and Wildlife officials, , found the wolf Aug. 16 and shot it. But they were not able to locate the animal’s body in the following days.
DNA from blood and tissue found in the area was linked to the Copper Creek pack, and no additional livestock deaths caused by wolves have been confirmed, nor any wolves heard in the area, the agency said Friday.
This is the second wolf killed by state wildlife officials because of the repeated killing of livestock. The first wolf, also from the Copper Creek pack, was killed in May after it killed two calves and injured three calves and a cow on three ranches in Pitkin County.
Colorado law requires wildlife officials to weigh four factors when deciding whether to remove a wolf for killing livestock, including whether there are repeated incidents, if nonlethal techniques have been tried, if the attacks will continue and if something will continue to lure the wolf or wolves to the area.
Several wildlife advocacy groups released statements Friday condemning the state’s decision, linking the wolf’s death to the “mishandling” of the 2024 relocation effort.
“After surviving the brutal Rocky Mountain winter alone following his family’s relocation in 2024, this young wolf deserved a chance to reunite with his family or find a mate,” Samantha Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement.
“Instead state officials shot him dead. Colorado must do better,” she continued.
Representatives with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Rio Blanco County Stockgrower’s Association could not be reached for comment immediately.
