Reintroduced wolf found dead in Colorado, second dead wolf in month

For the second time in April, a dead wolf has been found in Colorado.

According to Marianne Goodland of the Denver Gazette, US Fish and Wildlife Service public affairs specialist Joe Szuszwalak has confirmed that one of the 10 wolves that were released into Colorado as part of the reintroduction program that launched in December was found dead in Larimer County. Wildlife officials were made aware of the situation on April 18.

Initial evidence suggests that the wolf likely died of natural causes, though a final determination will be made once a necropsy is completed.

Larimer County is Colorado's 7th-most populated county, home to Fort Collins. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife mapping that's based on tracking collar data, at least one wolf had been previously detected in this county. The watershed unit where the presence of a wolf was detected was in the more remote northern portion of the county.

The reporting of this deceased wolf follows another reported wolf death that took place on April 3 in Elbert County, which is northeast of Colorado Springs. That death, however, did not involve a wolf that was released by wildlife officials, rather a wolf from the Great Lakes population, according to reporting from The Fence Post. It was killed when it was caught in a legal coyote trap, with the situation under investigation.

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