A gray wolf with a collar, part of Colorado’s reintroduction effort, passed away in Rocky Mountain National Park this week, as confirmed by wildlife officials on Thursday.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a notification of the wolf’s mortality from the collar on Sunday and later verified the death within the park, as stated in the agency’s news release.
The cause of death was not disclosed, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will investigate the incident due to the protection of gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.
Known as 2514-BC, the wolf was among the 15 gray wolves brought from British Columbia and released in Eagle and Pitkin counties earlier this year, marking the second release following voter approval for reintroduction in 2020.
Colorado officials noted that wolf mortality in the Rocky Mountain region is common and is accounted for in the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.
According to Parks and Wildlife, the typical lifespan of a gray wolf in the Rockies ranges from 3 to 4 years.
This incident marks the sixth death among the reintroduced wolves, with causes ranging from natural occurrences to intentional killings, such as the federal action in Wyoming in response to a collared Colorado gray wolf’s attack on sheep.
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