After a challenging third year in Colorado’s citizen-initiated program to restore the gray wolf, some good news has finally arrived – particularly regarding the high number of pups that have survived their always tenuous first 12 months.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists recently reported an updated population count of at least 32 gray wolves. Of those, 24 are members of established packs, including 10 adults and 14 pups, while the remaining eight are dispersing adult wolves.
“Pup recruitment into the wolf population this year was very high, which is a sign of wolves’ ability to find one another, pair, reproduce, and make a go of it in Colorado,” wolf conservation Program Manager Eric Odell said. “This is an encouraging sign of the biological success of our program and displays a positive trend in our wolf population size.”
The long road of wolf recovery continues, along with the promise of a brighter future for native Colorado wildlife and a more ecologically sound Rocky Mountain region.
Clint McKnight
Durango