Apex predators form new family units in Colorado. See their fluffy babies
Reintroduced apex predators are thriving and have established three new packs in Colorado, wildlife officials said.
Trail cameras set up in the wilderness captured a trio of the fluffy wolf pups playing in the woods. Colorado Parks and Wildlife shared the video to Instagram on July 17.
“A pup-date,” the agency said. “Colorado now has new wolf pups and three new wolf packs.”
The agency recognizes a new pack after a breeding pair produces offspring.
“While our staff have seen pups at some dens, the total pup count for all of the packs has not been confirmed,” the agency said.
The packs are the One Ear Pack in Jackson County, the King Mountain Pack in Routt County, and the Three Creeks Pack in Rio Blanco County, the agency said. All three counties are located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, at least about a 150-mile drive northwest from Denver.
Officials didn’t provide information about how the packs are named.
“Successful pack formation is vital to our wolf restoration plan — not just for bolstering Colorado’s wolf population, but also for developing pack territories,” officials said. “Defined territories help to monitor and better predict wolf behaviors, further improving our ability to work alongside ranchers and producers using methods that help protect both livestock and wildlife.”
Colorado was the first state to reintroduce the apex predator after residents voted in favor of the effort in 2020. Since then, a vocal group of ranchers, hunters and other agricultural stakeholders have complained, citing concerns over livestock depredation — and ultimately their livelihoods, The Denver Post reported.
Wildlife officials moved one of the first new packs to form in the state after wolves from the Copper Creek pack preyed on livestock, McClatchy News previously reported.
In a presentation given to the Parks and Wildlife Commission on July 17, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said one of the main ways the agency has been minimizing livestock conflicts has been through range riders. Nine riders scout on horseback in “areas with concentrated wolf activity,” and they can move to other areas as needed, the agency said in a news release.
Comments on the Instagram post were mixed, but several people agreed the wolf pups were adorable.
“So sweet… Hope they are well protected,” someone said.
“Truly a blessing,” another person said. “We are their stewards, pray that we do the best for them and their family.”
