DENVER — A female gray wolf from Canada has died in northwest Colorado, the state announced on Tuesday afternoon, meaning just about half of the animals translocated from Canada are still surviving.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed that they learned about the wolf's death on Jan. 16. The cause is not yet known.
Gray wolves are a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is investigating the cause of its death.
The wolf was part of the group that was translocated from Canada to Colorado in January 2025.
Watch our coverage on that release in the video player below.
No other details were available from CPW as of publishing time about this latest death.
Of the 15 wolves released in early 2025, eight have survived for one year, as of Tuesday. Four of those are male and four are female.
CPW will release a new gray wolf map on Wednesday. Below is the latest map of their movements around the state.
CPW has said it planned to reintroduce a third round of wolves in January 2026, but Denver7 has not received any updates on that process. It's not yet clear if that is set to happen.
Last month, the federal government sent a letter to CPW, saying the USFWS will make moves to take over the gray wolf reintroduction program in the state unless it addresses compliance issues. CPW said it planned to cooperate with this request.
The Scripps News Group has been following Colorado's wolf reintroduction program since the very beginning, and you can explore all of that reporting in the timeline below. The timeline starts with our most recent story.
Denver7 in-depth wolf coverage
The below list outlines an overview of the known wolf population in Colorado:
- Six wolves surviving from the original 10 that were released in December 2023 (one died of a likely mountain lion attack, a second died from injuries sustained prior to his capture as part of the Copper Creek Pack relocation effort, a third wolf became sickly and died, and a fourth died in Wyoming)
- Three wolves surviving of the five wolf pups born in the spring of 2024 (one male was killed by CPW after multiple depredations in Pitkin County and a second male was shot for the same reasons in September)
- Eight wolves surviving from the 15 that were released in January 2025 (one was shot and killed by Wildlife Services in Wyoming, a second died of unknown causes in Wyoming, a third died in Rocky Mountain National Park, a fourth died in northwest Colorado and the fifth died in northwest Colorado after it was likely hit by a car, a sixth died in southwestern Colorado, and a seventh died in northwest Colorado)
- Unknown number of pups born in four packs in 2025
- Two uncollared wolves that moved south from Wyoming several years ago and have been in and out of the area. It is not clear if they are alive or still in the state.
- One uncollared wolf that was last known to be in northwest Moffat County in mid-February 2025. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.
- Possible, but unconfirmed, wolf in the Browns Park area as of February 2025. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.